Driver Pleads Not Guilty in Crash That Killed 4
A Whittier man whose speeding pickup allegedly slammed into another truck, killing a pregnant woman and three children riding in back, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to manslaughter charges, a court official said.
Michael K. Andersen, 35, entered the pleas in Downey Municipal Court to four counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in the deaths of Angelica Flores, 22, of San Ysidro; her daughter, Vanessa Figueroa, 2; Ernestina Sanches, 13, and Ernesto Sanches Jr., 4 both of San Diego, a court clerk said. Andersen was being held at the County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.
The accident occurred Sept. 9 on the shoulder of the Santa Ana Freeway. The victims were thrown from the truck and 10 others were hurt when the pickup was struck from behind. California Highway Patrol officers said Andersen admitted to drinking that evening, but the district attorney’s office declined to release the results of his blood alcohol tests.
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