Placer County man guilty of misdemeanors in crash that killed two, including CHP officer
A Placer County man once accused of using a cellphone when his pickup struck a California Highway Patrol officer and another driver on the side of the road agreed to a plea deal this week that resulted in a conviction on misdemeanor charges.
Sean Matthew Walker of Rocklin initially was charged with two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter in the 2018 deaths of CHP Motorcycle Officer Kirk Griess and Jaime Manuel Bueza, who were struck by the pickup during a traffic stop along Interstate 80 in Solano County.
CHP officials at the time said Walker, 36, also was speeding, along with using his cellphone, which led to the deaths of Griess and Bueza.
Subsequent forensic analysis of Walker’s cellphone showed he was not using the device at the time of the crash, the Solano County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release announcing the plea deal in the case.
Prosecutors said it also was determined Walker had “suffered from a medical condition that resulted in sudden, temporary loss of blood flow to the brain, often resulting in loss of consciousness,” according to the news release. Toxicology results showed Walker was not under the influence of alcohol, illegal drugs or prescription medication.
Walker on Tuesday pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter in the deaths of Griess and Bueza, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Walker faces a maximum sentence of two years in the Solano County Jail. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 13.
Walker was arrested days after the fatal crash and later was released from jail on $90,000 bail, according to Solano Superior Court records. The crash occurred about 9 a.m. Aug. 10, 2018, along I-80 near Manuel Campus Parkway in Fairfield.
The motorcycle officer had pulled over a Saturn vehicle driven by Bueza, 49, of Vallejo. Both injured men were taken by ambulance to a hospital in Fairfield, where they were pronounced dead.
Griess, 49, a former Marine, served in the CHP for 19 years, the last 16 years at the agency’s Solano County office. He was survived by his wife, two adult daughters and a 14-year-old son.
Bueza moved to the United States from the Philippines 10 years earlier, friend Rick Naval said at the time. He worked as a caregiver, and was survived by his wife and his daughter, who then still lived in the Philippines.
Prosecutors said they met with CHP Solano Area command staff and the CHP’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team, along with Griess’ family and a Bueza family representative before resolving the case. Everyone in those meetings agreed to the resolution in the case, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
“Any loss of life in our community is tragic. This is true whether it involves a police officer, or a citizen engaged in a routine traffic stop,” District Attorney Krishna Abrams said in the news release. “We hope that today’s resolution will bring closure to the families who have lost their loved ones in this case, and at the same time hold the defendant accountable in a manner that is appropriate under the law and commensurate to the facts of the case.”
