Arraignment set in cyclist’s death
A Huntington Beach man was scheduled to be arraigned today in the death of a 14-year-old bicyclist he is accused of hitting while driving under the influence of narcotics and while sending a text message from his cellphone.
Jeffrey Francis Woods, 20, is charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in the Aug. 29 death of Daniel Oates.
Woods is accused of being under the influence of Vicodin when he suddenly swerved over several lanes of oncoming traffic in his pickup truck and struck Daniel, who was in the bike lane on the opposite side of the road.
The erratic driving was exacerbated, prosecutors say, by the fact that Woods was sending a text message at the time.
If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison.
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--David Haldane
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