A drunk driver accused of killing a National City man who was on his way to the California 10/20 run on Feb. 15 was driving without a valid license because he had two previous convictions for drunk driving, court records show.
Abraham Beltran, 24, has pleaded not guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter in the death of Oscar Miguel Melero, 52, who died after Beltran’s vehicle struck Melero’s car at approximately 80 mph around 7 a.m.
Melero had stopped his BMW in traffic on Del Mar Heights Road near Interstate 5 and was planning to attend the California 10/20 run that morning.
Melero was a hair stylist at a Hillcrest salon.
Beltran’s vehicle struck three other vehicles, injuring another person. He was driving without a valid license as his license was suspended due to drunk driving convictions in 2011, records show.
Beltran, of San Juan Capistrano, posted $100,000 bond the next day, but was remanded back to jail Feb. 23 when a
San Diego Superior Court judge increased the bail to $500,000.
Beltran appeared March 4 before Judge Polly Shamoon for a bail reduction, but she increased the bail to $750,000.
Melero’s family and friends attended the hearing.
Shamoon reset the preliminary hearing for June 10. Beltran remains in the George Bailey Detention Facility.
