Dang Tran, 21, of San Jose faces charges including gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
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The CHP said Tran was speeding and driving recklessly when he hit a Cadillac Escalade near Stevenson Boulevard around 9:30 p.m. Three people were ejected from the Escalade and killed.
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The Alameda County Coroner's Bureau identified the victims as Noelle Johnson, 39, Christy Limas, 14, and Brooke Limas, 9, all from Manteca.
The CHP said it did not appear they were wearing their seatbelts.
Five others from the Escalade, including four juveniles, were injured and taken to the hospital.
Police arrested Tran at the scene of the wreck on suspicion of DUI of marijuana.
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Ofc. Ross Lee, of the CHP San Jose Office, said officers are trained to identify an impaired driver.
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He said there are telltale signs that indicate marijuana. "Signs that are present in the eyes, in the mouth, in the tongue. A lot of time too, people who are under the influence of marijuana have been smoking in the car while they're driving so we have an odor a lot of the times as well," said Ofc. Lee.
He added it's a common misconception that drivers under the influence of marijuana are calm and relaxed drivers.
He said pot can make a person drive aggressively.
"It's going to affect everyone differently. So one person's experience with it is not indicative of everybody's experience with it," he said.