PORT HUENEME : Man Found Innocent in Motorist’s Death
A 44-year-old Upland man was found not guilty Friday of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter stemming from a 1992 traffic collision that killed a Port Hueneme man.
A Ventura County Municipal Court jury listened to eight days of testimony and deliberated two days before returning the not guilty verdict against Anthony Garcia.
Juan Alcantar Tapia, 51, was killed when his van collided head-on with a truck driven by Garcia near the entrance to a produce market at 3000 Hueneme Road, the California Highway Patrol said. The jury deadlocked 6 to 6 before clearing Garcia of any wrongdoing, Deputy Dist. Atty. Christopher S. Harman said.
Garcia did not have any alcohol or drugs in his system, lawyers said.
Defense attorney George Eskin said prosecutors contended that Garcia was speeding and driving with defective brakes. But Eskin said that the wreck occurred on rain-slick streets in Oxnard and that a tractor-trailer parked on the road played a role in the incident.
“It was sticking out into the highway, and it was a factor in the accident,” Eskin said.
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