Trial begins for man suspected of killing 3 in car crash
Jury selection started Monday in Kern County Superior Court for the trial of a man charged with killing three in a November car crash in which he is suspected of falling asleep at the wheel.
Jose De Jesus Velazquez Gomez, 38, of Arvin is charged with three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
According to the California Highway Patrol, Velazquez Gomez failed to stop at a stop sign at Edison and Di Giorgio roads around 5:30 a.m. Nov. 3. He hit a car that traveled out of control into a railroad crossing arm and all three people in the car died.
According to the probable cause statement submitted by CHP to the courts, Velazquez Gomez told officers he believed he fell asleep while he was driving after he hadn't slept for two days.
According to the statement, a witness told CHP officers that she believed Velazquez Gomez was “coming down” from a methamphetamine high the morning of the crash.
The witness told officers Velazquez Gomez came to her apartment twice that morning and forced his way in the first time he visited. Velazquez Gomez told the witness that she told him to force his way into the apartment, according to the statement.
Velazquez Gomez is being held without bail.
