DA Charges Man with Murder in Deadly Sunnyvale Crash

Santa Clara County prosecutors have charged San Jose resident Brian Burke, 34, with murder in a fatal wrong-way crash in Sunnyvale. (da.santaclaracounty.gov) The District Attorney’s Office said Burke drove drunk the wrong way down a Sunnyvale throughway on April 9 and hit a Jeep head-on. The woman driving the Jeep was a 52-year-old Mountain View resident heading home from work at a Denny’s. (da.santaclaracounty.gov) Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety officers responded at about 10:55 p.m. to the intersection of Central Expressway and Commercial Street. They found Burke in a Ford F-150 with major front-end damage and the victim in a black Jeep Compass with major front-end damage. (da.santaclaracounty.gov) (svvoice.com) The victim was extricated from the Jeep with major injuries and pronounced dead at the scene, according to prosecutors. Burke was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after the crash. (da.santaclaracounty.gov) (svvoice.com) The murder charge points to a California legal theory often used in fatal drunk-driving cases, where prosecutors argue a driver acted with implied malice. The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office did not use that term in its release, but local coverage reported the case likely involves a Watson-style second-degree murder charge. (svvoice.com) (da.santaclaracounty.gov) District Attorney Jeff Rosen said, “More than 10,000 people die in drunk driving incidents every year in this country.” He added that the Sunnyvale case was “an avoidable criminal tragedy, and in this case – a murder.” (da.santaclaracounty.gov) Burke was arraigned on April 13 and is being held without bail, according to the District Attorney’s Office. His next court date is scheduled for June 2 at 9 a.m. in Department 84 at the Palo Alto Courthouse. (da.santaclaracounty.gov) If convicted, Burke faces prison time. For now, the case turns a late-night crash at one Sunnyvale intersection into a homicide prosecution. (da.santaclaracounty.gov)