A Maryland man convicted of killing another motorist had 11 mimosas in less than two hours before driving, prosecutors said.
Surveillance video shows 22-year-old Kevin Orihuela of Rockville drinking mimosas at a friend’s birthday brunch Aug. 14, 2022, according to prosecutors. They showed the video at trial as part of their evidence of how many drinks Orihuela – whose group had ordered “bottomless mimosas” – consumed and how fast.
He then got into his white Audi A4 and left the restaurant at the Pike and Rose complex using the Towne Road exit, prosecutors said. Orihuela turned right on Josiah Henson Parkway.
His car’s event data recorder showed he was accelerating with 100% of his car’s capability and had reached a speed of 70 mph when he collided with a Ford Fusion, killing 62-year-old Noel Powell.
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Powell was finishing a shift as a supervisor for a company that provides security to federal buildings in Rockville.
He leaves behind a wife of 34 years and two adult children.
“This was such an avoidable loss,” said Lauren DeMarco of the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office. “This day and age, you have so many options between ride share and public transportation. Even just planning ahead. Knowing that if you’re going to be out celebrating, you’re going to drink, or in some way, you’re going to become intoxicated, have a safe way home.”
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Prosecutors say Powell’s plans for that Sunday were a quiet evening with his wife.
A jury convicted Orihuela of vehicular homicide. He faces a decade or more in prison at sentencing in December.
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