A San Francisco man is facing murder charges after prosecutors say he ran a red light while intoxicated and slammed into another car at a Daly City intersection, killing both people inside. Rhiannon Lawler, 46, of San Francisco, died at the scene, and Augustin Garcia, 50, of Daly City, died on the way to the hospital. The driver, Alvaro Fabian Caballero-Arteaga, remains in custody without bail.
According to KRON4, prosecutors said Caballero-Arteaga was driving while intoxicated when he ran a red light and crashed into the car carrying Lawler and Garcia at the intersection of Flournoy Street and San Jose Avenue. Lawler had been moving through that intersection on a green light when her car was broadsided, prosecutors said. She was pronounced deceased at the scene, while Garcia died before reaching the hospital.
Caballero-Arteaga had a blood alcohol level of 0.15% three hours after the collision, per the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors also said his driver's license had already been suspended for a misdemeanor drunk-driving arrest in Alameda County earlier this year, meaning he was allegedly back behind the wheel despite an existing ban tied to a prior DUI case.
Arraignment Set for Next Week
A public defense attorney was appointed to Caballero-Arteaga's case on Oct. 7, and his arraignment has been set for Oct. 15. Beyond those scheduling details, the report notes no further information about the court location or case number has been made available.
The case echoes other recent DUI-related murder prosecutions around the state. In Oxnard, a Santa Paula man was charged with two counts of second-degree murder after an alleged 100-mph crash involving eight vehicles killed two drivers, according to Edhat. That same Oxnard case was also covered by KTLA, which reported the driver was accused of being under the influence and speeding before the fatal collision. In Los Angeles, a woman accused of driving an SUV into a Metro bus was charged with two counts of murder after prosecutors said she was high at the time, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
A Broader Pattern on Bay Area Roads
Closer to Daly City, a 29-year-old driver faced criminal charges after a fatal San Bruno crash that killed his 22-year-old passenger, according to a separate KRON4 report. That case, like the one involving Caballero-Arteaga, underscores how often alcohol-related crashes in the region end in criminal charges rather than simple traffic citations.
For now, the Daly City case moves toward arraignment with Caballero-Arteaga held without bail, and no additional details about the exact time of the collision or the testing procedures used to measure his blood alcohol level have been disclosed in the reporting so far.
