Oroville,CA : Trucker charged in deadly Christmas Eve crash on Highway 99 on Monday, December 12th 2016

Nearly a year ago, on Christmas Eve, a commercial trucker driving on Highway 99 in southern Butte County veered into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with a Honda Civic, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The driver of the Honda, Michael Herrera, 33, of Yuba City, was killed in the wreck. A subsequent chain reaction of car crashes left two other motorists injured.

The CHP in April recommended that the trucker, identified as 27-year-old Ravenpreet Singh Johal of Yuba City, face criminal charges, accusing him of criminal negligence.

On Thursday, after prosecutors had requested a follow-up investigation from the CHP, the Butte County District Attorney’s Office filed a criminal complaint against Johal, accusing him of felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and felony reckless driving on a highway causing great bodily injury.

Deputy district attorney Erika Romo said Monday it’s the prosecution’s theory that the wreck was caused by driver fatigue. Johal, she said, had been driving a lot over the course of the week, and he was apparently falling asleep at the wheel when he crossed over into oncoming traffic.

Neither drugs nor alcohol was a factor in the crash, and the CHP previously ruled out mechanical problems with Johal’s big rig.

Johal is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges Dec. 30 at Butte County Superior Court in Oroville.

Douglas MacKay, an attorney representing Johal in several civil lawsuits that have been filed against him in Butte County, did not immediately return a call Monday seeking comment.

According to the complaint, Johal has a 2010 conviction in Sutter County of driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 percent or greater.

Johal’s charges stem from a wreck that happened about 6:45 a.m. on Highway 99, just south of Rio Bonito Road near Biggs, according to the CHP.

Johal, who was southbound in a 2010 Peterbilt semi-truck, allowed the big rig to travel east into the oncoming northbound lane, where he first hit the Honda Civic driven by Herrera, according to the CHP.

Johal’s semi continued traveling in a southeast direction and subsequently collided with the front end of a Pontiac Montana driven by Primitivo Perez, 36, of Live Oak. Perez was seriously hurt in the crash.

As the crash continued to unfold, another northbound driver, Louis Corum, 35, of Live Oak, tried to avoid a collision but ultimately crashed his Ford F-150 pickup into the side of the semi-truck. Corum also suffered serious injuries.

A fifth motorist, Ellyn Stephenson, 50, of Live Oak, was forced off the road and crashed into a tree in an orchard east of the highway. She was OK.

Source :
Trucker charged in deadly Christmas Eve crash on Highway 99