Sheriff’s deputies in California arrested a man for vehicular manslaughter, accusing him of driving through flooded waters with a passenger who later died.
Emergency responders received a call Tuesday saying two people, driver Ramon Meza-Sesma and passenger William Colaj Son, were trying to leave a private ranch and cross flood-swollen waters onto a local road, the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.
First responders found their Toyota Camry but did not find either man. On Wednesday morning, Mr. Meza-Sesma showed up at a ranch in Paicines, about 60 miles southeast of San Jose, to get help, the sheriff’s office said.
First responders realized Mr. Colaj Son was still unaccounted for. Mr. Meza-Sesma said he last saw him after they got out of the car, which was submerged in deep, moving water, the sheriff’s office said.
A search began for Mr. Colaj Son, who was found unconscious about a mile downstream. When first responders crossed the river to reach Mr. Colaj Son, they confirmed he was dead, though the sheriff’s office did not specify his cause of death.
Deputies arrested Mr. Meza-Sesma after he was treated and released from a local hospital. Detectives are now exploring whether intoxication or foul play was involved in Mr. Colaj Son’s death.
“If it was just an accident, then it was just an accident — it’s a terrible tragedy. If there is any sort of criminal negligence, then we certainly want to make sure that we are prepared in that event,” Deputy Kaleb Simpson, a detective with the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office, told KSBW-TV.
