A Sacramento driver was charged on Wednesday, Nov. 29, for allegedly causing a lethal multi-car pile-up on California’s Interstate 80 near San Pablo, across the Bay from San Francisco.
Fred Lowe, 47, fled the crash scene at Interstate 80, leaving six wrecked vehicles and four dead bodies behind. Police suspect Lowe was driving while intoxicated.
Lowe is being held on $1.15 million bond, but that figure could rise after his arraignment, Mercury News reports.
According to witnesses, Lowe was driving his blue Mercedes eastbound on I-80 through Contra Costa County near the San Pablo Dam Road exit, at about 8:10 p.m., when he hit a white Nissan sedan, sending it spinning across the median and into oncoming traffic.
The Nissan, which was carrying five people, also overturned as several other cars collided with the Nissan or drove off the road to avoid a collision.
Family Devastated
The Nissan was being driven by Jared Horn, a UC Berkeley sophomore and pitcher for the school’s baseball team. Horn was driving his family back from a father-son basketball tournament. Horn was the only survivor of the five in the vehicle. He was hospitalized with “serious injuries” according to East Bay Times but was able to be released the next day.His father, Daryl, 50, was killed instantly, the East Bay Times reports, along with Horn’s 14-year-old brother Joe, 13-year-old cousin Baden Biddle, and Horn’s uncle, 52-year-old Troy Biddle.
Athletics Director Mike Williams expressed similar sentiments: “We extend our heartfelt condolences to Jared and his family after this inconceivable tragedy. They are clearly in our thoughts during this difficult time and we are here to offer any and all help and support they may need.”
History of Drunk Driving
Lowe had multiple prior convictions for driving under the influence, and a conviction for robbery. At the time of the accident, Lowe had an invalid license—it had been suspended for drunk driving.Charges of murder are rare in cases of drunk driving. In this case, prosecutor Derek Butts explained, Lowe’s record, plus “the nature of the collision and his driving prior to it, and the flight from the scene, and the high alcohol content in the defendant’s blood,” demanded the harshest possible charges.