Crime & Safety

Chico CHP to Recommend Charges Against Dixon Teenager in Sutter County Double Fatal Traffic Accident

The CHP office in Chico is expected to recommend charges against Dixon teenager Justin Andrews stemming from the deaths of Delfino Gaona and Alejandro Silva

The Chico California Highway Patrol Office is wrapping up the investigation into the tragic auto accident that took the lives of Dixon teenagers , 19, and , 17.

The investigation is expected to be complete within two weeks said Chico CHP Officer Chris Booth.

Booth said the CHP will forward the findings of their investigation to the Sutter County District Attorney's office and will recommend charges -- which Booth said at the minimum would be vehicular manslaughter -- against Justin Andrews, 18, who drove during the accident.

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Booth said he could not comment on the specifics of the case, including the blood-alcohol level of Andrews, taken at the time of the accident. While the CHP can recommend charges against Andrews, it's up to the Sutter County district attorney to decide whether or not to go along with the case and prosecute Andrews.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Sutter County District Attorney's office had not yet received a complaint against Andrews.

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happened on the night of May 7, along Highway 99, around 11:18 p.m., at Nicolaus Avenue, in Sutter County. The CHP said Andrews was driving a 1995 Saturn Sedan south along the highway, with Gaona and Silva as his passengers. The trio was following friends in a car ahead, the CHP said. 

Andrews made a left turn onto East Nicolaus Avenue into the path of a 2005 GMC Yukon, being driven by Amber Klugh, 28, northbound on Highway 99, according to the CHP. Klugh struck Andrews' vehicle on its right side, instantly killing Gaona.

Silva was fatally injured during the wreck and flown by air ambulance to Sutter Roseville Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. Andrews was also injured during the accident and sustained a punctured lung and lacerated liver. 

Klugh, 28, and her passengers -- Jeremy Klugh, 29, and their two infant children, all of Yuba City -- were not injured during the wreck.

Dixon Patch will continue to follow up on this story as it develops. To get updates on this and many other stories like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.


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