Deadly Head-On Crash on Central Expressway

Santa Clara County prosecutors say a San Jose man drove drunk the wrong way on Central Expressway in Sunnyvale and killed a woman returning home from work. (da.santaclaracounty.gov) The district attorney’s office charged Brian Burke, 34, with murder in the April 9 crash at Central Expressway and Commercial Street. Prosecutors said Burke was arraigned April 13 and is being held without bail. (da.santaclaracounty.gov) Prosecutors identified the woman as Salome Cigarrero Guevara, 52, of Mountain View. They said Burke’s Ford F-150 struck her Jeep Compass head-on as she drove home from her shift at a Denny’s. (ktvu.com) (da.santaclaracounty.gov) Sunnyvale officers responded at about 10:55 p.m. and found Guevara trapped in the Jeep with major injuries, according to the district attorney’s office. She was extricated from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. (da.santaclaracounty.gov) (nbcbayarea.com) Burke was found in the driver’s seat of the pickup truck with major front-end damage and was taken to Valley Medical Center for evaluation, local reports said. The Silicon Valley Voice reported that he refused to speak with investigators and refused a blood test before police obtained a warrant. (svvoice.com) The district attorney’s office did not detail Burke’s prior record in its release, but local coverage said the murder filing suggests prosecutors may be pursuing a Watson-style second-degree murder theory used in California fatal drunk-driving cases. (svvoice.com) District Attorney Jeff Rosen said more than 10,000 people die in drunk-driving incidents each year in the United States and called each death “an avoidable criminal tragedy.” He said this case was “a murder.” (da.santaclaracounty.gov) Burke’s next court date is scheduled for June 2 at 9 a.m. in Department 84 at the Palo Alto Courthouse. The criminal case now turns on what prosecutors can prove about intoxication, direction of travel and Burke’s state of mind before the crash. (da.santaclaracounty.gov)