A 29-year-old San Francisco man is facing gross vehicular manslaughter charges after police say he crashed into a light pole while driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs near El Camino Real and the westbound Interstate 380 off-ramp in San Bruno, killing his 22-year-old passenger, also of San Francisco. The crash happened at roughly 12:51 AM on Sunday, August 30, according to San Bruno police.
Patrol officers responded to the solo-vehicle crash near the intersection and found both the driver and his passenger with major injuries, according to the San Bruno Police Department. Both men were taken to a local trauma center for treatment and evaluation. The passenger later died from his injuries, police said.
The driver was arrested and booked into the Maguire Correctional Facility, San Mateo County's main jail for adult male detainees, which is run by the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office. He faces charges of gross vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs causing great bodily injury or death, and possession of a controlled substance, per the department's report.
Where the Crash Happened
The off-ramp where the crash occurred sits along a short but heavily traveled stretch of freeway. Interstate 380 runs just 3.3 miles through San Mateo County, linking Interstate 280 to U.S. Route 101, with the El Camino Real interchange serving as one of its three main access points, according to Wikipedia's entry on the route, officially named the Quentin L. Kopp Freeway.
Police have not released the identities of the driver or passenger. The department's Major Accident Investigation Team has taken over the investigation into the circumstances and cause of the crash, and the case remains active, San Bruno police said.
A Familiar Stretch of Road for High-Speed Stops
This is not the first time impaired or reckless driving has led to trouble at this exact interchange. On January 3, 2026, San Bruno officers running a DUI saturation patrol tried to stop a vehicle going more than 120 mph on Interstate 380 before the driver crashed attempting to exit onto El Camino Real, the department reported on Facebook. The corridor has also drawn scrutiny for years: in September 2019, officers arrested two drivers for racing on El Camino Real near I-380 after leaving a nearby car meet, citing speed as a leading cause of local injury crashes.
Just months before this latest crash, a 78-year-old woman died on November 19, 2025, after her vehicle struck a building on the 100 block of El Camino Real in San Bruno, an incident that also triggered a Major Accident Investigation Team probe, according to the department's Facebook page. San Bruno police also led a countywide DUI saturation operation in December 2025 that produced more than 100 traffic stops and 10 DUI arrests across multiple San Mateo County agencies.
What the Charges Could Mean
Under California Penal Code Section 191.5(a), gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated is a felony punishable by four, six, or 10 years in state prison, according to Justia Law. Because the crash also caused great bodily injury to a surviving victim, state law allows for an additional consecutive sentencing enhancement of three to six years, per the Goldstein Law Group. It remains unclear whether prosecutors will pursue that enhancement in this case, and San Mateo County Superior Court proceedings have not yet been scheduled.
San Mateo County Superior Court also runs a specialized DUI Intensive Supervision Court aimed at closely monitoring repeat impaired drivers through a combination of judicial oversight, probation, and substance treatment, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety. Statewide, alcohol-impaired driving fatalities rose 18.2 percent between 2020 and 2021, climbing from 1,159 to 1,370 deaths, per the same agency's 2023 annual report.
Police Renew Their Plea Against Drunk Driving
San Bruno police, in their statement, called impaired driving preventable and urged anyone who has been drinking to designate a sober driver, call a rideshare, or phone someone they trust rather than get behind the wheel. The department is asking anyone with information about the crash to contact Sergeant Scott Smithmatungol, who is handling media inquiries, at 650-515-2296.
This crash echoes an earlier San Bruno case that also began with impaired driving and ended in tragedy. In 2022, a man who shoplifted from the Tanforan Center fled police while under the influence of drugs and caused a fatal collision; he later pleaded no contest to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, as Hoodline previously reported, and was ultimately sentenced to 19 years in prison.
