• Facebook
  • Google Plus
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter

Menu

Skip to content
  • About
  • Staff
  • Contact
  • Support
  • Advertise
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
Header image

Times of San DiegoLogo

Local News and Opinion for San Diego

Menu

Skip to content
  • All
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Education
  • Arts
  • Military
  • Tech
  • Life
  • Opinion
Search Thousands of San Diego Jobs
  • San Diego State to Play in New Mexico Bowl Against Central Michigan
  • Woman on Wheelchair Killed by Hit-and-Run Driver in Lincoln Park
  • 1 Person Burned, 23 Displaced by Apartment Fire in El Cajon
  • City Opening 'One-Stop' Housing Navigation Center for the Homeless
  • Aztecs Overcome Cold Shooting, Stay Undefeated as Flynn's Late Shot Gives Them the Win

Home » Crime » This Article

Not Guilty in Chicano Park Tragedy, Says Navy Man Accused of DUI

Posted by Ken Stone on October 19, 2016 in Crime | 5160 Views
| Comments | Leave a Comment
Share This Article:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail
The truck plunged into a crowd of festival-goers in Chicano Park. Photo Credit: On Scene TV.
A truck allegedly driven by Richard Anthony Sepolio, 24, plunged into a crowd of festival-goers in Chicano Park on Oct. 15, 2016. Photo Credit: On Scene TV.

A Navy petty officer whose pickup truck flew off a transition ramp to the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge and crashed into a crowd in Chicano Park, killing four people, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to felony vehicular manslaughter and DUI charges.

Support Times of San Diego's growth
with a small monthly contribution

Become a supporter

Richard Anthony Sepolio, 24, was arraigned from his wheelchair in a hospital conference room on four counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and two DUI counts. He faces nearly 24 years in prison if convicted and had his bail set at $2 million.

Sepolio suffered a broken hand, broken rib and fractured vertebrae in the crash, according to his attorney, and it’s unclear when he’ll be discharged from UCSD Medical Center.

The crash that occurred shortly after 3:30 p.m. last Saturday killed Annamarie Contreras, 50, and Cruz Contreras, 52, a married couple from Chandler, Arizona, and Hacienda Heights residents Andre Banks, 49, and Francine Jimenez, 45.

Authorities said Sepolio, a Navy aviation electronics technician assigned to Coronado-based Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 6, lost control of his GMC pickup truck, which  went over the concrete railing on the north side of the bridge and fell more than 60 feet.

Prior to the crash, Sepolio used the Uber ride-hailing service to go a restaurant, where he had a bottle of wine and a couple of cocktails, Deputy District Attorney Cally Bright alleged.

Sepolio and a female friend also used Uber to go back to her house, and despite her warnings to the defendant not to drive, he got in his truck and headed home toward Coronado, Bright told reporters.

The defendant told police that he was on Interstate 5 where it transitions onto the bridge in a 45 mph zone and was trying to move over to the left lane, Bright said.

According to Sepolio, another driver wouldn’t let him move over, so he gunned his engine and was going about 81 mph when he hit the left guardrail and spun off the freeway and landed in Chicano Park, the prosecutor said.

Four people were killed instantly and seven others were hospitalized — four of them with serious injuries, the prosecutor said. The park was filled with attendees of an event organized by the owner of the motorcycle magazine Vatos Y Viclas.

Sepolio’s blood was drawn an hour after the crash, and was measured at .08 percent, Bright said. She said the defendant’s blood-alcohol content at the time of driving was estimated to be between .08 and .09 percent.

Drivers in California are considered under the influence if their blood- alcohol content is .08 percent or higher.

“This is seven new (DUI fatality) cases in seven weeks,” Bright said. “It shocks me, is what it does.”

Defense attorney Paul Pfingst told reporters that Sepolio was cut off in traffic and was not under the influence at the time of the crash.

The attorney said his client — who has no prior record — aspired to be a Navy Seal.

A bail review was set for Nov. 2 and a preliminary hearing for Jan. 25.

On Tuesday, Sen. Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, pledged to make improving safety on the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge a top priority. He said the iconic bridge has become synonymous with a loss of life from vehicle crashes and suicide. Hueso called on Gov. Jerry Brown for more resources to improve safety and prevent suicides, such as guardrails or higher sides.

“We have to make sure the bridge is safe for the people above and the people below,” Hueso said.

Tommie Camarillo of the Chicano Park Steering Committee said Saturday’s crash was not the first time the bridge has affected the safety of those at or near the park below. On separate occasions, a motorcycle and a vehicle fender had fallen off the bridge, he said.

–City News Service

This story was updated at 4:39 p.m. to include additional details.

 

Not Guilty in Chicano Park Tragedy, Says Navy Man Accused of DUI was last modified: October 20th, 2016 by Ken Stone

>> Subscribe to Times of San Diego’s free daily email newsletter! Click here

Follow Us:
Facebooktwitterrss
Posted in Crime | Tagged Barrio Logan, Chicano Park, Coronado bridge, Richard Anthony Sepolio
Search Thousands of San Diego Jobs

Get Times of San Diego by Email

Our free newsletter is delivered at 8 a.m. daily.


Most Popular Today

  • How a 384-Word Story by Morgan Cook Led to Duncan Hunter's Guilty Plea How a 384-Word Story by Morgan Cook Led to Duncan Hunter’s Guilty Plea 1,260 views
  • World Sports Court Restores Vin Lananna as USATF President, Board Chairman World Sports Court Restores Vin Lananna as USATF President, Board Chairman 1,170 views
  • New SDSU Stadium Floor to be Named Bashor Field for Donor after $15M Gift New SDSU Stadium Floor to be Named Bashor Field for Donor after $15M Gift 660 views
  • Rachel Maddow Faces Slapdown by UC Linguistics Professor in Defamation Suit Rachel Maddow Faces Slapdown by UC Linguistics Professor in Defamation Suit 630 views
  • 7 San Diego Law Professors Sign Letter Calling Trump Conduct Impeachable 7 San Diego Law Professors Sign Letter Calling Trump Conduct Impeachable 580 views

©®2019 Times of San Diego LLC

Menu

  • About
  • Staff
  • Contact
  • Support
  • Advertise
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service