In a press release, the SLO County district attorney’s office announced that John Anthony Gonzalez would be criminally charged for a car accident on July 2 that killed an infant. Gonzalez was driving on the 101 when he lost control near Los Osos Valley Road. His passenger, Priscilla Vargas, had removed her three-month-old baby, Jazmyne Castillo, from her car seat before the accident. The infant died as a result of the collision.
Gonzalez was charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving when privilege suspended for prior DUI conviction.
The CHP recommended that both Vargas and Gonzalez be charged with misdemeanor manslaughter, with an additional charge of felony child endangerment against Vargas.
In the press release, filing Deputy District Attorney Jerret Gran stated, “Here, Ms. Vargas made an error in judgment to remove her baby from the car seat, but this conduct does not rise to the level of criminal negligence.”
-J.P.
This article appears in Oct 6-13, 2005.