The driver of the semi that collided with a minivan on Christmas Eve, 2015 in Paso Robles, killing all four occupants of the van, has been charged with tampering with his onboard computer to erase evidence about the crash. 1 The Highway Patrol stated that they found the 56-year-old driver on his cell phone when they arrived at the accident scene and that he was trying to give instructions to someone on the other end of the line on how to erase the data from his truck’s onboard computer.
The accident, which occurred at the intersection of Highway 101 and Wellsona Road, just north of Paso Robles, around 6:14 p.m. December 24, killed four people. The semi, driven by a man from Las Vegas, stalled at the intersection, causing the minivan to run into the truck. CHP Officer Timothy Maxwell testified in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Thursday that Trujillo was attempting to remove evidence from the computer that showed his truck had malfunctioned.
While there were other contributing circumstances to the accident, the CHP investigation concluded that Trujillo caused the accident by not yielding right-of-way to the minivan and by driving an unsafe vehicle. Trujillo has also been charged with four counts of felony vehicular manslaughter in connection with the accident. He has pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges.
Civil lawsuits in these kinds of cases involve wrongful death claims against the truck driver, trucking company and often other businesses. Criminal charges can result in prison time; whereas, civil lawsuits can result in money damages being awarded to the family.
