Charges Planned in Crash Fatal to 3 SDSU Rowers

Manslaughter charges will be filed today against the teen-age driver of a van that crashed near Los Banos in May, killing three members of the San Diego State University rowing team, a Merced County prosecutor said Thursday.

Deputy Dist. Atty. William Hunter said he will file three felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence against Joseph Farrage, 19. Farrage was driving a van rented in San Diego and loaded with athletes returning from a meet in Sacramento when the accident occurred on the night of May 11.

If convicted, Farrage can be sentenced up to six years in state prison on each count, said Hunter. Lawrence Sperber, Farrage’s attorney, had anticipated the charges against his client and has assured Merced County officials that Farrage will surrender when charged, said Hunter.

The prosecutor said the decision to charge Farrage on felony counts was made after an investigation of the accident by California Highway Patrol investigators revealed that Farrage was guilty of gross negligence. Investigators said the van was traveling a “minimum of 75 m.p.h.” when the left rear tire blew out, causing Farrage to lose control of the vehicle.

However, Hunter said that interviews with the survivors and other witnesses indicate that the van was probably traveling closer to 85 m.p.h. The van rolled several times before it caught fire. Three SDSU athletes were killed and 10 were injured. All but two of those aboard were thrown from the van, including those who died.

“This is a very traumatic and sad incident,” said Hunter. “On the other hand, criminal law is intended to deter this kind of thing in the future . . . There are several factors that indicate that Mr. Farrage was guilty of gross negligence.”

Hunter said those factors include evidence that Farrage maintained a constant rate of speed “that was more like 85 m.p.h.” In addition, Farrage was aware that the tire that blew did not have a lot of tread left, and he had experienced a previous blowout on the trip, said Hunter.

Investigators said the van had a blowout earlier in the trip and that the tire was repaired. A senior CHP officer said that if the van had been traveling at a safe speed, Farrage would have been able to control the vehicle even with a blowout.

“The CHP report doesn’t blame excessive speed or heat buildup as the cause of the blowout, but the point is that if he had been driving the van at a safe speed he still would’ve been able to control the vehicle even with a blown tire,” said Hunter.

Hunter said the CHP investigation included interviews with survivors of the crash and with passengers in a second van that was following the doomed vehicle. The second van was carrying women athletes from SDSU and the University of San Diego.

Empty beer cans were found in the van, but Hunter said that Farrage was not drinking and the CHP concluded that alcohol was not a factor in the accident. “The bottom line is that speed was the cause,” CHP spokesman Bob Arnold said.

Killed in the accident were Derek Guelker, 18, of Orange; Mark Skinner, 19, of San Diego, and James O’Hara, 20, of Englewood, Colo.

“It’s sad to say but seat belts really played a factor in this tragedy. Only two passengers in the van were wearing seat belts. They only suffered minor injuries. The dead and more seriously injured were not wearing belts,” said Hunter.

Farrage is still hospitalized from injuries suffered in the accident and has undergone at least seven skin grafts for burns suffered in the crash.