Executive is sought after O.C. crash

About 24 hours later, the Hyundai executive who was driving the SUV had left for his native South Korea, according to investigators.

Now, 1 1/2 years later, an arrest warrant has been issued for Youn Bum Lee, and the victim's family told prosecutors that they want other Hyundai executives held liable, believing they helped him leave the country before police could track him down.

Orange County prosecutors last month charged Lee in absentia with three felonies in the death of 23-year-old Cook: gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated; driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs with injury; and hit-and-run with injury or death.

Officials at the California Highway Patrol, who are leading the investigation, said Tuesday that the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Orange County district attorney's office were working to find Lee. His wife, who moved out of the couple's Irvine home with their son days after the accident, is believed to be with him.

"We don't know where he's at right now," said CHP spokeswoman Jennifer Hink.

Hink said the investigation had been complicated by Lee's status as a foreign national, his decision to leave the country and language barriers. She said some of Lee's colleagues at Hyundai Motor Co.'s U.S. subsidiary in Fountain Valley failed to cooperate during early stages of the investigation, but "for the most part, they have provided helpful information."

Cook's relatives, on the other hand, say they are convinced there was a cover-up at Hyundai. They said they plan to file a wrongful-death lawsuit today against the corporation and several employees, including Lee, alleging they helped thwart the investigation.

"Getting Youn Bum Lee out of the picture before he could be questioned or investigated immediately after the accident, that was a significant roadblock," said the victim's father, Carlton Cook of Huntington Beach. "Personally, I feel like Hyundai and its employees were accountable for the events that led up to the accident too."

Calls to Hyundai's legal department and company officials named in court records were not returned Tuesday.

Police reports and other documents on file at Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana allege the following, in chronological order: