A Danville man faces a vehicular manslaughter charge after a fatal collision earlier this year on March 1. The County's official announcement stated that the Contra Costa District Attorney's Office filed the charge against 72-year-old Andrew Chao, whose actions behind the wheel have led to this reckoning.
At the intersection of Sycamore Valley Road and Camino Ramon, near Interstate 680 in Danville, Chao's vehicle collided with a pickup truck, resulting in a rollover that inflicted severe harm upon its occupants, a family from San Leandro, with three injured, and one, a 57-year-old woman, pronounced dead at the crash site. Investigators dispatched by the Danville Police Department discovered that neither alcohol nor drugs were contributing factors in the collision, according to details from a social media post by the Danville Police Department.
After the Contra Costa D.A.'s Office received the case from Danville Police detectives, an arrest warrant was issued. Chao was arrested by Danville police officers and booked into the Martinez Detention Facility. Held on $50,000 bail, he now awaits a 1:30 p.m. court appearance today. If convicted of one count of vehicular manslaughter [PC192(c)(1)], he could be sentenced to up to six years in state prison.
"Vehicle-related fatalities are extremely tragic because they are often preventable," District Attorney Diana Becton remarked on the nature of the incident and the painful impact it has on all involved parties. "While prosecuting cases like this ensures individuals are held accountable for their actions, no amount of legal action can undo the profound emotional trauma and loss that the crash survivors must endure," according to the County's statement.
