Police say driver in crash that killed CHP officer, motorist in Fairfield was on phone
FAIRFIELD, Calif. (KGO) -- A Rocklin man is charged with two counts of manslaughter and reckless driving for the deaths of a CHP officer and a motorist last Friday.
Thirty-six-year-old Sean Matthew Walker was arrested Wednesday for the deaths of Officer Kirk Griess and motorist Jaime Manuel.
Authorities say Griess had made a routine traffic stop in Fairfield off Interstate 80 when Walker struck them with his Chevy pickup at high speed.
AUDIO: Dispatch calls for help after CHP officer hit on I-80
"Basically, this was a deadly combination of speeding while he was on the phone and causing death to these individuals," said Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams.
The CHP says it has evidence and witness accounts that Walker was driving recklessly before the crash, which killed their colleague and friend.
Griess was a former Marine and 19-year veteran of the CHP.
"The message needs to be sent, your actions have consequences when you make a call or answer a text, lives are at stake," said CHP Captain Mark Headrick.
Forty-nine-year-old Jaime Manuel was a foreign national from the Philippines working in Solano County as a caregiver. He had been living with friends in Vallejo.
His best friend, Rick Naval says Manuel was kind and giving. "He tried his luck in the U.S., unfortunately he came here with nothing and will return with nothing, it's so sad," said Naval.
Walker is scheduled to be arraigned in a Fairfield Courtroom Thursday afternoon.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Manuel's family with expenses.
The CHP credit union has set up a fund for Griess' family.
