Man who drove with a body in his window to be charged
A man who drove home with a body hanging out of the back of his car after an accident with a motorcycle has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and will appear in court today, authorities said.
Tony Martinez, 54, of Perris was taken into custody late Saturday on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, hit-and-run driving, and driving under the influence, all felonies. He is expected to be charged today in Riverside County Superior Court, said Ingrid Wyatt, spokeswoman for the Riverside County district attorney’s office.
Martinez pulled out of a roadside market parking lot onto California 74 near Perris on Saturday about 7:50 p.m. without noticing that Nicholas Justin Campbell, 20, of Moreno Valley was heading toward him on a motorcycle at about 80 mph, California Highway Patrol spokesman Ron Thatcher said.
Campbell, on a 2007 Honda motorcycle, crashed into the back of Martinez’s 1993 Saturn sedan. His head and torso broke through the rear window. Martinez drove about a mile home with Campbell’s body hanging out of the back of the car. Then he drove to a nearby fire station, where Campbell was pronounced dead, authorities said.
Campbell had been wearing a helmet.
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