SAN DIEGO (AP) – A member of the U.S. Navy was arrested after the pickup truck he was driving plunged off a San Diego bridge, killing four people and injuring nine at a festival below, authorities said.
Authorities identified the driver as Richard Anthony Sepolio, 25, who was stationed at the naval base on Coronado Island across the bay from San Diego. His rank or job description was not immediately available.
Sepolio was alone in the truck Saturday afternoon when he lost control and it struck a guardrail and fell 60 feet onto a vendor’s booth at Chicano Park, California Highway Patrol Officer Jake Sanchez said. He was taken to the hospital with major injuries and was later arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs causing deaths and injuries, the officer said. It wasn’t immediately known when Sepolio would be arraigned.
“It’s horrible. It’s horrific. We had innocent people down here having a good time and now they’re gone,” Sanchez said.
The California Highway Patrol identified the deceased as a 62-year-old man and 50-year-old woman from Chandler, Arizona, and a 59-year-old man and 49-year-old woman from Hacienda Heights, a suburb east of Los Angeles. Authorities did not immediately release their names.