Hit and run driver had a
history of drunk driving

By Christy Scott
The Alpine Sun

     ALPINE — The driver of a truck that struck and killed Alpine resident, Edward Costa last Tuesday evening was arrested two days later when he pulled into the parking lot of a bar directly across the street from the scene of the accident.
     According to prosecutors, Travis Weber has a history of drunk driving convictions in California and New York and told police that he had been drinking on the day of the accident.
     Minutes before he ran down Edward Costa on Alpine Boulevard Dec. 2, Travis Chris Weber rear-ended a woman who was in a Volkswagen Jetta stopped at a traffic light in Alpine, but told police he has no memory of hitting the Jetta or the bicyclist, Deputy District Attorney Gordon Paul Davis said.
     Weber also was legally intoxicated when he was arrested on Thursday night at the Liars Club in Alpine, directly across the street from an ongoing candlelight vigil that was being held for Costa. At that time Weber registered a blood alcohol level of .14 in field sobriety tests, Davis said. The legal limit is .08.
     Weber, 44, pleaded not guilty in El Cajon Superior Court Tuesday to charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, hit-and-run driving causing death and two counts of drunk driving.
     If convicted of all charges, Weber faces a maximum penalty of 15 years to life in prison, Davis said.
     Judge Patricia K. Cookson said Weber represented such a threat to the public that she raised his bail from $102,500 to $1 million. A Dec. 23 hearing was set to determine if there is sufficient evidence for a trial.
     The judge appointed the county Public Defender’s Office to represent Weber.
     Costa, 30, was riding in the bike lane on eastbound Alpine Boulevard west of East Victoria Drive near the sheriff’s Alpine substation about 4:50 p.m. Dec. 2 when he was struck by a pickup, also heading east, police said.
     The truck was speeding when it hit the back of the bike, throwing Costa about 50 feet, police said. The truck then ran over the bike and proceeded to speed away.
     The entire incident was videotaped by a security camera on the substation roof, Davis said.
     When Weber was arrested, he told officers that before driving to Alpine he bought a pint of vodka at an El Cajon liquor store and drank it while sitting in his truck in the store parking lot reading a newspaper and talking on his cellular phone, Davis said.
     Weber’s truck had damage to the passenger side headlight, Davis said. He said Weber told police he thought he had run into a roadside mailbox, Davis said.
     A funeral for Eddie Costa, known as “The Big Kid” by family and friends was held on Tuesday, exactly a week after the incident, at Saint Kieran’s Catholic Church. Eddie lived in Alpine with his wife, Kristine, and two young sons, Austin, 10, and Carter 2.

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