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photo credit: BCNThe man who drove a minivan into a tree in Napa County this weekend, killing six, has been charged with six counts of murder, the District Attorney's Office said Tuesday.
The 53-year-old Stockton man, is facing six felony counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and a felony count of DUI causing injury with two prior convictions for driving under the influence, prosecutors said.The DA said the man has a third DUI from over ten years ago which cannot be used against him due to statutory limits.
On Tuesday, the medical examiner in Napa County identified two victims-- Loreto Ricardo Hernandez, 42, and Fernando Silverio, 34, both from Stockton.
Both were killed when the Toyota Sienna minivan the suspect was driving veered off Pope Valley Road and hit a tree shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The crash, northeast of Calistoga, left six people dead. The coroner's office said it was having difficulty finding the next of kin for the decedents, who all appear to have been farm workers.
The CHP said the driver and a passenger who survived the wreck were flown to trauma centers with major injuries and were still hospitalized as of Tuesday.
In addition to the murder charges, The suspect is facing special allegations including inflicting great bodily injury with a deadly weapon and that the crimes involved violence, cruelty, viciousness or callousness; that the crimes demonstrate an increasing level of seriousness compared to previous crimes, and that he was on probation at the time and showing a poor performance while doing so.
