A man has been charged with vehicular manslaughter after he drunkenly crashed into an outdoor dining area in San Jose, killing one woman and seriously injuring two men.
According to police, the man was sitting in his construction-grade, white 2017 Chevrolet Silverado truck, when he accidentally placed the vehicle in reverse and proceeded to reverse at a high rate of speed into an unsuspecting group of people sitting outside the same bar.
Newly-released court documents alleged he was receiving oral sex just moments before the collision, as reported by The Mercury News
The suspect was on an alcohol-and-cocaine bender on Friday and had gotten kicked out of Agave Sports Bar and Grill on West Alma Ave. before the incident, the paper said.
Thirty-two year old Alex Corpus Moreno of San Jose was formally charged on Wednesday with gross vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence causing injury. Since his arrest Friday, he's been jailed.
He refused breath and blood tests in inquiry to his intoxication, officials said.
The woman who died was 35-year-old Diana Prieto-Chacon, who friends said worked at the bar. According to a Facebook post from her mother, Prieto-Chacon was a Colombian citizen who lived in the U.S. for a brief period and had a young daughter back home.
The other two victims were men in their 30s and 40s and suffered serious leg injuries, but are expected to survive.
A police report revealed that Moreno was reportedly seen using cocaine out in the open and was asked to leave the bar after he showed signs of heavy intoxication and tried to take a woman’s top off.
Witnesses and bar employees told police Moreno and his companion, a 24-year-old woman, complied and got into his truck, which is owned by his employer, Benicia-based Quality Erectors and Construction, Inc. Witnesses told police the couple was in the truck for about half an hour. The woman told police she was performing oral sex on him while he was in the driver’s seat and unbeknownst to her, the truck started to move.
An investigation showed that the truck traveled as fast as 45 mph and about 170 feet through the parking lot and into patrons.
In a statement, Moreno’s employer said he was not authorized to use the vehicle off the clock.
This is San Jose's 24th fatal collision, and 25th victim of 2021.
It is also the 8th auto-versus-pedestrian fatal collision this year.
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