Santee
The driver of a pickup truck that collided with a car on Buckman Springs Road, killing three Santee residents, has pleaded guilty to three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
Joseph John Murphy, 24, of Huntington Beach, entered his plea Thursday just as San Diego Superior Court Judge Barbara Gamer was to assign his case to a courtroom for trial.
On March 23, social worker Linda Perillo, 40, Christopher Onweller, 14, and Tammy Sue Kiefer, 18, were killed when Murphy allegedly ran a stop sign near the intersection of Old Highway 80 and Buckman Springs Road.
Murphy’s attorney, Gershon Greenblatt, denied in court documents that his client ran the stop sign. A blood alcohol test showed Murphy was not drinking before the accident, in which he sustained a concussion.
Gamer set sentencing for Sept. 24. Murphy could receive eight years in state prison.
Also injured in the crash were Richard Onweller, 39; James Perillo, 18; Jennifer Perillo, 10, all of Santee, and Barbara Vecchio, 26, of Los Angeles.
Murphy works in Santa Ana on oil rigs and was in town to visit his brother at the time of the accident.
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