A 59-year-old driver accused of striking and killing a 13-year-old boy with his pickup truck in Dana Point was charged Thursday, Nov. 20 with murder and hit-and-run.
Bradley Gene Funk, who has two previous driving under the influence convictions, was not immediately charged with another DUI for the Nov. 18 crash that killed Luis Adrian Morales-Pacheco. DA officials said they are still awaiting the results of toxicology tests taken after his latest arrest.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Luis was walking with his brother to school near Park Lantern and Dana Point Harbor Drive just after 8:15 a.m. on Tuesday when Funk drove his vehicle over a curb and struck the boy.
Funk continued driving, sheriff’s officials alleged, until witnesses found him two to three miles away from the crash site. His truck was missing a tire, officials added.
Luis was a sixth grader at Niguel Hills Middle School. Supporters have established a GoFundMe to help the boy’s family, which had raised more than $50,000 by Thursday afternoon.
Funk in July 2021 agreed to plea deals to resolve two misdemeanor DUI cases. In one of the cases he admitted to driving on a highway while under the influence of alcohol, court records show, while in the other he admitted to driving while intoxicated and hitting two other vehicles.
He received a suspended sentence, was ordered to serve five years of informal probation and was ordered to take part in alcohol classes.