Thread: Driver arrested in crash that left four dead

http://www.sacbee.com/102/story/144755.html See pictures.

Driver arrested in crash that left four dead

By Christina Jewett and Kim Minugh - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:22 pm PDT Tuesday, March 27, 2007
The suspect arrested on drunk driving charges Tuesday in the South Land Park crash that killed four people is a prominent Latino Republican activist who has served in a variety of government posts, including a November 2006 appointment by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to the state Board of Optometry.

Roberto P. Vellanoweth, 63, of Greenhaven, was arrested on suspicion of four counts of gross vehicular manslaughter and felony driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, officials said. Sgt. Matt Young said police planned to book Vellanoweth in the Sacramento County Main Jail on Tuesday morning.

Young declined to say what the suspect's blood alcohol level was or what may have been in his system at the time of the crash, 3:49 p.m. Monday.

Sacramento County coroner's officials on Tuesday released the identities of the two sisters -- one who was the mother of the toddler who died in the crash -- and the other woman who died in the crash.

Brittanya Metchelle Nash, 17, is the sister of Brizchelle Ta'Corra Rice, 21. Rice is the mother of Kamall Dino Savant Osby, 19 months. Shanice Patrice Carter, 18, was also in the car and pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to coroner's officials.

A fifth occupant of the car -- a 16-year-old girl-- was taken to a local hospital with critical injuries, Sacramento Fire Capt. Chad Augustin said. Her relationship to the other occupants remains unclear.

Vellanoweth has been active in Sacramento-area Republican politics for years, serving in the past as chief of human affairs and chief of economic and fiscal affairs for the state Department of Parks and Recreation. From 1995 to 2001, he served on the state's Youthful Offender Parole Board as an appointee of Gov. Pete Wilson, and on the Department of Economic Opportunity as an assistant director of community relations.

Schwarzenegger appointed him to the optometry board last November.

He also is listed as a member of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad, which is a Mexican government advocacy group.

He is a former Sacramento-area teacher and father of four, according to Bee archives, and was president of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly.

Vellanoweth was the driver of one of two cars involved in the accident at South Land Park Drive and Wymore Way described by some first responders as among the worst they've seen on Sacramento streets.

"For a city street, in my view, this is pretty unheard of," said Ward Cockerton, an area fire chaplain. "How do you smash up two cars and kill four people?"

According to police, the collision happened as the 1984 Chrysler LeBaron was traveling north on South Land Park Drive. The red 2005 Jeep Cherokee was heading south on the same street.

The Jeep crossed into oncoming traffic and hit the Chrysler head-on -- in a crash investigators believe was caused by alcohol's influence and speed, according to Young. He said it is unclear whether the passengers in the Chrysler wore seatbelts and the toddler was not in a child safety seat.

The end result was a mangled 1984 Chrysler sedan that came to rest on the lawn of a home at the intersection's northeast corner. All four of the dead were riding in that car.

The impact of the collision apparently was so great that the sedan lost an axle. Debris was strewn throughout the intersection.

Vellanoweth, the driver of a maroon Jeep, was taken to a local hospital with moderate injuries, officials said. He was the sole occupant of that vehicle, which came to rest facing a strip mall parking lot shared by Vic's IGA Market and other businesses.

Monday's tragic scene drew dozens of onlookers, some of whom were brought to tears. Police officers and firefighters wore somber faces. They winced at the agonized shrieks of relatives and friends who arrived and were consoled by law enforcement and fire department chaplains.

Jerry Kwong, a 20-year-old employee of a computer repair shop near Vic's, leaned against a tree, overcome with emotion. He was one of the first people to rush to the scene on foot, drawn out of his building by a noise he described like "thunder"; other onlookers said it shook nearby homes.

What he saw still haunted him hours later.

"There's no way anyone could prepare for this," Kwong said.

He said he first went to the Jeep, where the driver was conscious and still clutching the steering wheel, apparently in shock. As Kwong and several other people tried to coax him out of the car, the driver yelled, "I'm fine! I'm fine!" Kwong said.

Kwong was drawn across South Land Park Drive, to the sedan, by shouts from people asking for help with those victims. The driver -- a woman Kwong estimated to be in her late 30s -- had been ejected from the car and was lying on the ground. The front passenger was slumped over, Kwong said.

He said he saw a teen girl trying to get out of the car from the back seat, and then walk to a paramedic's gurney. Kwong said he helped extinguish a small fire that had begun in the engine compartment, and then got out of the way of paramedics.

Augustin said the three adults were pronounced dead at the scene. Paramedics loaded the toddler into an ambulance, he said, but then pronounced the child dead before transporting the body to the Coroner's Office.

It appeared that "multiple people" within the Chrysler were not wearing seat belts, Augustin said. The child was pulled from beneath an adult and a collapsed seat, he said.

Kwong said he saw a child's safety seat in the trunk of the car when firefighters opened it.

Hours later, Kwong was waiting for news of whether the young woman had pulled through.

"I've never seen something that gruesome before," he said.

Firefighters on the scene -- though accustomed to seeing death -- said the extensive toll intensified the emotional impact.

"Any time a child is involved, it raises it to another level," Augustin said. "We think of firefighters as tough and able to handle anything, but we all have families and loved ones."

Cockerton, the fire chaplain, said a debriefing session was scheduled for Monday night for firefighters and paramedics who were at the scene.

Standing outside crime-scene tape on South Land Park Drive, Lynne Lobdell watched as officers began their investigation. She recently moved to Boise, Idaho, but she used to live around the corner from the intersection and lamented that people drive too fast on South Land Park Drive.

"You can't help but think speed was a factor here," said a saddened Lobdell, 47. "God, look at the damages."

She turned toward a hysterical group of family and friends apparently connected to the Chrysler occupants.

"My heart just goes out to them."



Copyright © The Sacramento Bee

He also is listed as a member of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad, which is a Mexican government advocacy group.

As Kwong and several other people tried to coax him out of the car, the driver yelled, "I'm fine! I'm fine!"

Lock the door (to the jail cell) and throw away the key!