The prosecution wrapped up closing arguments Tuesday afternoon trying to convince the jury that the truck driver, Marcos Costa, is guilty of second-degree murder, a conviction that could result in a life sentence in prison.
Marcos Costa, with the help of a Portuguese interpreter, listened as L.A. County Deputy District Attorney Carolina Lugo summarized the case against him.
Costa is facing seven charges, including two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of vehicular manslaughter. This all stems from an accident on April 1, 2009, in La Canada.
Costa was driving an 18-wheel tractor-trailer when his brakes went out and he barreled down Angeles Crest Highway through an intersection and crashed into a bookstore. Father and daughter Angel and Angelina Posca of Palmdale were killed.
The prosecution explained to jury that Costa should have never been on Angeles Crest Highway in the first place. Costa and his partner had stopped to water down the brakes, which were smoking.
"He got back in that big rig and drove that final, curvy road and the final descent into La Canada," said Lugo. "When he did that, when he continued to drive that big rig, he acted with a conscious disregard for human life."
If convicted on the second-degree murder charges, Costa faces life in prison with the possibility of parole. His defense will give closing arguments Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.
