OXNARD : Man Pleads Guilty in Fatal Crash
A 41-year-old Oxnard man pleaded guilty Thursday to vehicular manslaughter in connection with an incident last month in which he slammed his pickup truck into a disabled vehicle and killed a 24-year-old Ventura man.
Manuel Garcia was scheduled to have a preliminary hearing Thursday, but entered the guilty plea instead. He faces up to 10 years in prison.
The crash occurred about 7:50 p.m. Jan. 12 on Vineyard Avenue north of Simon Way while Amanpreet Singh was pushing his pickup truck in a southbound lane, police said.
Garcia was driving south on Vineyard Avenue at a high speed when he struck Singh’s truck from behind, the California Highway Patrol said. The impact killed Singh instantly and threw his body 120 feet.
Garcia’s truck then spun into the northbound lanes and stopped. While Garcia’s truck was standing in the middle of road, it was struck by a vehicle driven by 29-year-old Paul Klasen of Fillmore. Klasen was treated at the scene for minor injuries.
Authorities never revealed Garcia’s blood-alcohol level. But Deputy Dist. Atty. Donna W. Thonis said the case against Garcia was solid.
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