Truck driver drops appeal in Angeles Crest Highway manslaughter case

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Marcos Costa, the big-rig truck driver convicted of manslaughter in a 2009 fatal crash in La Cañada Flintridge, has dropped his appeal, according to his attorney.

Costa, 46, was sentenced in 2011 to seven years and four months in prison. Palmdale resident Angel Posca, 58, and his 12-year-old daughter, Angelina, died on April 1, 2009, after Costa’s truck, which lost its brakes, slammed into Posca’s vehicle on Angeles Crest Highway before crashing into a building on Foothill Boulevard.

‘Mr. Costa wants to put this tragic accident behind him,’ said Sally Brajevich, appointed to represent Costa in his appeal.

Brajevich did not comment on why Costa decided to drop his case, which was originally scheduled to be heard by California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal on Jan. 29, the La Cañada Valley Sun reported.

During Costa’s trial, prosecutors showed evidence that he neglected to check his brakes before driving on the highway. A firefighter testified that he warned Costa that his brakes were smoking and that he should take an alternative route. Brajevich had argued that there was no truck escape lane available on the highway.

Steve Mercer, a La Cañada Flintridge resident and deputy attorney general in the case against Costa, said he was surprised that the driver dropped his appeal.

‘He really had nothing to lose by going forward,’ Mercer said. ‘In fact, he might have succeeded in getting a few months knocked off his sentence.’

Mercer said Costa’s decision to not go forward with the appeal offers the victims some closure.

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-- Tiffany Kelly, Times Community News