VISTA, Calif. -- A motorist accused of being drunk when his car slammed into an SUV on Interstate 5, killing a 27-year-old man, had a blood-alcohol level of .10 percent after the crash, a prosecutor said Thursday.

William Vincent Romero, 43, is charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving with a measurable blood-alcohol level of .08 percent or higher, DUI causing injury and hit-and-run causing death.

He faces 14 years in prison if convicted, said Deputy District Attorney Matthew Greco.

At the outset of his preliminary hearing, which will resume Tuesday, witnesses began testifying about the events that led up to the April 4 death of 27-year-old Oscar Lopez.

According to the California Highway Patrol, Romero was driving his 1993 Chevrolet Camaro on I-5 south of Basilone Road just after midnight when the car drifted into another lane and crashed into a 2004 Ford Explorer.

Lopez, who was in the back of the SUV getting some sleep before his 2 a.m. shift at a fish company, was thrown from the vehicle and killed.

The victim's 5-year-old son, Oscar Jr., was also thrown from the SUV but escaped serious injury, investigators said.

Romero ran from the crash scene but was arrested a short time later near San Onofre State Beach, according to the CHP.

Greco said Romero was convicted of child abuse in 2004 and went to prison. The defendant also has felony convictions for bribing an executive officer and presenting false evidence, the prosecutor said.

At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, Weber will decide if there is enough evidence to order Romero to stand trial.