Marcos Costa

Judge Laura Matz will preside over a hearing today at the Glendale Courthouse that could start to wrap up the civil litigation remaining from the 2009 fatal runaway truck crash on Angeles Crest Highway that took two lives and resulted in the driver, Marcos Costa, being convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter. One of the lawyers involved in the case, who asked not to be named so as not to disturb negotiations, said that a tentative agreement had been reached to give the victim's family $750,000 from Costa's $1 million insurance policy.

Marcos Costa, the truck driver in the fatal Angeles Crest Highway crash on April 1, appeared Monday for a pretrial hearing at Pasadena Superior Court. Costa, who is accused of killing a man and his daughter after his big-rig lost control, was ordered to return to court Sept. 30 for another pretrial hearing. On April 1, Costa drove down Angeles Crest Highway when the big rig's brakes failed.  The truck ran through the intersection, crashing into cars--including one driven by Jorge Posca and his daughter, Angelina Posca, who were both killed--and through Flintridge Bookstore.

Trial is set to begin on June 20 for the driver charged with murder in the April 2009 Angeles Crest Highway runaway truck crash that killed two people in La Cañada Flintridge. Marcos Costa, 46, appeared for a pretrial hearing Monday in a Los Angeles Superior Courthouse in Pasadena during which attorneys on both sides of the case told Judge Darrell Mavis they were ready to proceed to jury selection next week. “We’re ready to go, and I expect the jury to find Mr. Costa not guilty of all the charges.

After nearly a week of deliberations, the jury in the murder case against Marcos Costa, the driver of a brakeless big rig that killed two people in La Cañada in April 2009, retired Wednesday without announcing a verdict. Costa, a Portuguese-speaking Brazilian truck driver who hails from Massachusetts, has testified throughout the five-week trial through a translator that he did everything he could to stop his 25-ton truck after its brakes failed on April 1, 2009 while headed westbound on Angeles Crest Highway.

In a day of court shortened by various delays, defense counsel Edward Murphy concluded his examination of defendant Marcos Costa after hours of questioning about the exact details of the runaway truck crash that killed two people in La Cañada Flintridge in April 2009. Murphy asked Costa, 46, on Monday to answer through a Portuguese translator a series of queries about his moment-by-moment recollections of the final descent his truck took down Angeles Crest Highway after its brakes had given out. As during the start of Costa’s testimony last week, Murphy used a video of the highway to illustrate the exact route Costa would have taken as he approached Foothill Boulevard.

In testimony Friday that was set to continue Monday morning, the driver of the runaway truck that killed two people in La Cañada Flintridge in April 2009 after its brakes went out on Angeles Crest Highway recounted parts of that journey leading up to the fatal crash. Marcos Costa, 46, said through a Portuguese translator that he did his best to follow a route prescribed by a witness who flagged the truck down on Angeles Forest Highway, but due to his poor command of English may not have understood all the man said — including warnings about the steep terrain he would face and evidence that his brakes were overheating.

While the memories of the deadly runaway truck collision on the Angeles Crest Highway that killed two, injured several and left a 25-ton big rig sitting inside a local bookstore have begun to fade for some, life will never be the same for the family of the victims. Marcos Costa, the driver of the runaway double-deck car carrier, could end up on probation or serving little to no time after a jury on Friday found him not guilty of second-degree murder. Or he could serve years in prison.

We have been waiting anxiously this week - those of us keeping a close eye on the Marcos Costa murder trial - for a verdict in the case of the tragic April 1, 2009 runaway truck crash in La Cañada. As of Wednesday afternoon, no verdict had been rendered. The jury was given quite a task on July 21, weighing all the evidence provided by both sides. It's a testament to the conscientiousness of those serving on the panel that they have taken their time in reaching a decision. The Valley Sun will post on its website the verdict as soon as we learn it. In case you don't already have us bookmarked, you can find the paper at www.lacanadaonline.com.

Frustrated by his inability to get a Portuguese court translator fluent in his native Brazilian dialect, Marcos Costa, the man facing murder charges in the Angeles Crest Highway runaway truck crash that killed two people last year, asked a judge on Tuesday for a Spanish alternative. A native of Brazil who has relied on a Portuguese court translator while acting as his own attorney in defending against murder charges that could send him to prison for life, Costa told a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Tuesday that he'd prefer to proceed to trial with a Spanish translator instead.

Judge Laura Matz will preside over a hearing today at the Glendale Courthouse that could start to wrap up the civil litigation remaining from the 2009 fatal runaway truck crash on Angeles Crest Highway that took two lives and resulted in the driver, Marcos Costa, being convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter. One of the lawyers involved in the case, who asked not to be named so as not to disturb negotiations, said that a tentative agreement had been reached to give the victim's family $750,000 from Costa's $1 million insurance policy.

While the memories of the deadly runaway truck collision on the Angeles Crest Highway that killed two, injured several and left a 25-ton big rig sitting inside a local bookstore have begun to fade for some, life will never be the same for the family of the victims. Marcos Costa, the driver of the runaway double-deck car carrier, could end up on probation or serving little to no time after a jury on Friday found him not guilty of second-degree murder. Or he could serve years in prison.

We have been waiting anxiously this week - those of us keeping a close eye on the Marcos Costa murder trial - for a verdict in the case of the tragic April 1, 2009 runaway truck crash in La Cañada. As of Wednesday afternoon, no verdict had been rendered. The jury was given quite a task on July 21, weighing all the evidence provided by both sides. It's a testament to the conscientiousness of those serving on the panel that they have taken their time in reaching a decision. The Valley Sun will post on its website the verdict as soon as we learn it. In case you don't already have us bookmarked, you can find the paper at www.lacanadaonline.com.

After nearly a week of deliberations, the jury in the murder case against Marcos Costa, the driver of a brakeless big rig that killed two people in La Cañada in April 2009, retired Wednesday without announcing a verdict. Costa, a Portuguese-speaking Brazilian truck driver who hails from Massachusetts, has testified throughout the five-week trial through a translator that he did everything he could to stop his 25-ton truck after its brakes failed on April 1, 2009 while headed westbound on Angeles Crest Highway.

The fate of the driver charged with murder after his runaway big rig killed a 12-year-old girl and her father in April 2009 in La Cañada Flintridge is in the hands of the jury after attorneys on both sides completed their closing arguments Wednesday afternoon at the Los Angeles County Superior Courthouse in Pasadena. Deputy District Atty. Carolina Lugo told jurors that driver Marcos Costa had acted with willful disregard for human life as he proceeded down Angeles Crest Highway before the brakes on his truck went out and it barreled through Foothill Boulevard, striking several cars and crashing into a bookstore.

In a day of court shortened by various delays, defense counsel Edward Murphy concluded his examination of defendant Marcos Costa after hours of questioning about the exact details of the runaway truck crash that killed two people in La Cañada Flintridge in April 2009. Murphy asked Costa, 46, on Monday to answer through a Portuguese translator a series of queries about his moment-by-moment recollections of the final descent his truck took down Angeles Crest Highway after its brakes had given out. As during the start of Costa’s testimony last week, Murphy used a video of the highway to illustrate the exact route Costa would have taken as he approached Foothill Boulevard.

In testimony Friday that was set to continue Monday morning, the driver of the runaway truck that killed two people in La Cañada Flintridge in April 2009 after its brakes went out on Angeles Crest Highway recounted parts of that journey leading up to the fatal crash. Marcos Costa, 46, said through a Portuguese translator that he did his best to follow a route prescribed by a witness who flagged the truck down on Angeles Forest Highway, but due to his poor command of English may not have understood all the man said — including warnings about the steep terrain he would face and evidence that his brakes were overheating.

A witness to the fatal truck crash that killed two people at the base of the Angeles Crest in 2009 testified this week that when the truck hit the Flintridge Bookstore and Coffeehouse, she thought that she and the truck's driver “were going to die right at that moment.” Melissa Watkins, the shop's inventory manager at the time, said in court Monday that she and truck driver Marcos Costa locked eyes for a brief, terrifying moment while Costa's 25-ton...

Trial is set to begin on June 20 for the driver charged with murder in the April 2009 Angeles Crest Highway runaway truck crash that killed two people in La Cañada Flintridge. Marcos Costa, 46, appeared for a pretrial hearing Monday in a Los Angeles Superior Courthouse in Pasadena during which attorneys on both sides of the case told Judge Darrell Mavis they were ready to proceed to jury selection next week. “We’re ready to go, and I expect the jury to find Mr. Costa not guilty of all the charges.