He faces two counts of murder, and if convicted faces life in prison.
Jose Luis Vargas' appearance in court lasted less than a minute, but the grief is he accused of causing early Saturday morning is going to last a very long time.
It was 1 a.m. at the intersection of Sunset Blvd. and Gower St. when according to police Vargas ran a red light and crashed into a Honda Civic. The couple inside died instantly.
The victims are 28-year-old Samuel Cassel, who was a vice president at Scott Rudin Productions, and 28-year-old Rhiannon Meier, who was the vice president of creative affairs at Red Wagon Productions, part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Pictures group.
In a statement from Steve Elzer of Columbia TriStar Motion Pictures, it reads, "Rhiannon filled every room with her huge smile, intelligence and enthusiasm. You could already see the bright lights of her future both personal and professional. We are stunned by her loss, and our hearts go out to her family and friends for whom she is so clearly irreplaceable."
Vargas faces two counts of murder. He was booked for driving under the influence over the weekend, but the district attorney did not charge him with that.
Vargas remains in custody and his bail has been set at $2 million. He is due back for his preliminary hearing on Dec. 21.
