An Elk Grove man has been convicted of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter for his role in a fiery triple-fatal crash on Interstate 5 in Woodland two years ago, according to the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office.
Yolo Superior Court Judge Stephen Mock, who presided over last week’s court trial of Gubani Roderico Rosales Quinteros, found that while Quinteros was negligent when he crashed his delivery truck into slow-moving traffic on the afternoon of Aug. 8, 2011, the act did not amount to felony gross negligence, prosecutors said.
Mock also convicted Quinteros of 35 felony identity-theft charges stemming from a false name Quinteros reportedly had used since 1996 and provided to California Highway Patrol investigators following the crash.
Quinteros’ first trial in January ended in a mistrial after a juror failed to participate in the deliberation process, prosecutors said at the time. Last week’s court trial did not involve a jury.
Chief Deputy Public Defender Allison Zuvela, Quinteros’ attorney, declined to comment until after her client’s sentencing, which is scheduled for Sept. 20. Quinteros faces anywhere from probation to 15 years in prison.
A parcel deliveryman, the 42-year-old Quinteros was accused of driving his box truck recklessly on southbound I-5, slamming the vehicle at an estimated 70 mph into cars that had slowed for a freeway construction zone
The wreck involved six vehicles in all — five of which caught fire — and killed three people, including Robert and Linda Taylor of Oregon and 2-year-old La’nessa Demillo of Washington, all of whom were en route to visit family in California. Seven others were injured.
Zuvela blamed the collision on a poorly planned construction area, noting that Quinteros, who also was injured in the crash, was neither under the influence nor speeding at the time of the incident.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene