The truck driver charged with vehicular manslaughter after his
tow truck slid into a Caltrans work site, killing a Gilroy man,
will stand trial in San Jose next month.
The truck driver charged with vehicular manslaughter after his tow truck slid into a Caltrans work site, killing a Gilroy man, will stand trial in San Jose next month.
Sean Merriman, 32, was part of a three-man Caltrans crew repairing potholes on U.S. 101 near Hellyer Avenue in San Jose, April 4, 2006, when a tow truck skidded on wet roads and crashed into the work site, killing him. The driver, Louis Estrada Vasquez, 44, and his then-employer, Ponzini’s Community Garage of Morgan Hill, face a civil suit brought on by the Merriman family, charging negligence. Attorneys for the plaintiff and defendant are scheduled to meet Aug. 26 for a trial setting conference in the civil suit.
Vasquez has also been charged by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office with vehicular manslaughter, a misdemeanor, and pleaded not guilty.
He could face up to one year in county jail if convicted, Deputy District Attorney Jeena Jiampetti said. She and the public defender are currently holding pretrial conferences and will convene Aug. 11 to touch base, she said. The criminal trial will begin Sept. 8 in Department 24 in the Hall of Justice in San Jose. She expects the trial to last more than a week, which is fairly long for a misdemeanor trial, she said.
