Oroville,CA : Charges re-filed in fatal Nord Avenue crash on August, Wednesday 16th 2017

Charges were dismissed and re-filed Wednesday in the case of a suspected drunken driver accused of fatally striking a pedestrian in Chico and then driving away from the scene, prosecutors said.

The charges stem from a crash that happened in the early morning on Nord Avenue, near West Sacramento Avenue. Police have said the driver, Bryan Dawson of Chico, drove onto a sidewalk and fatally struck 20-year-old Maria Flores of Chico.

Dawson, 24, is charged in Butte County Superior Court with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or higher, according to court records.

Dawson also is accused of fleeing the scene of a crime, an enhancement attached to the manslaughter charge.

The fleeing enhancement was at the crux of the Butte County District Attorney’s Office decision to re-file charges against Dawson.

A judge previously found there was not enough evidence to hold Dawson to answer on the fleeing allegation, siding with Dawson’s defense attorney, Anthony Cardoza, in finding that Dawson was in an unconscious or blacked-out state when he crashed his car and drove away.

The judge, Clare Keithley, in reviewing evidence in the case, noted that Dawson noticed steam rising from his hood after stopping to buy food at a Carl’s Jr. restaurant, according to court transcripts from a hearing in May.

After noticing the steam, and the condition of his vehicle, Dawson then called 9-1-1, realizing he was in an accident, the judge said.

During the hearing, Cardoza argued in part that his client was not trying to avoid responsibility by driving away from the scene. He said Dawson — about 20 minutes after the crash happened — called the police on himself after looking at his car and realizing “something horrible had happened.”

Prosecutors disagreed with the judge’s ruling to set aside the fleeing enhancement, which could add years to a possible state prison term should Dawson be convicted.

In a phone interview Wednesday, District Attorney Mike Ramsey said his office decided to re-file charges against Dawson — with the fleeing allegation — because prosecutors disagreed with the judge’s ruling.

“When you drive over a sidewalk, run over someone, tell the police later that you had a vague memory of something rolling off the hood of your car, you continue driving for five miles — that really meets the definition of hit and run,” Ramsey said.


The district attorney said prosecutors want the fleeing allegation to go before a jury. He said a different judge could reconsider the matter.

While Dawson previously had pleaded not guilty in the case, he did not immediately enter a plea after charges were re-filed Wednesday.

Cardoza did not return a message seeking comment Wednesday. During a previous hearing where prosecutors noted their intent to re-file charges with the fleeing enhancement, Cardoza said it was his belief they were trying to bypass the judge’s previous ruling on the matter.

Dawson remains in custody at Butte County Jail in Oroville.


Source :
Charges re-filed in fatal Nord Avenue crash