The driver who was arrested after a fiery collision that killed a toddler in Cupertino last week was charged with murder on Tuesday — and was allegedly driving between 90 and 100 miles per hour when he collided with a stopped car, authorities said.
Eric Chen Su, a 37-year-old Apple employee, was charged in connection with the death of Riley Howard, a toddler who died following the two-vehicle collisionaccording to court records.
Su was also charged with assault with a deadly weapon with an enhancement for causing great bodily injury to a second victim, according to court records. Prosecutors further allege that Su’s victims were “particularly vulnerable” and his actions involved “a high degree of cruelty.”
Su was scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday afternoon, according to court records.
The collision occurred around noon Friday, Nov. 6, near the intersection of Tantau and Pruneridge avenues, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office. Su had been driving a black Toyota Camry northbound on Tantau Avenue near Apple Park Way, a road that acts as the “main thoroughfare” of Apple’s headquarters, according to police reports.
Su was traveling between 90 and 100 mph in a 30 mph zone — a “reckless, excessive” speed that “a reasonable person would know is careless, reckless, and without due regard for the safety of others,” police said. He then rear-ended the victim’s blue Chevy sedan, which was fully stopped, without applying his vehicle’s brakes.
His speedometer was stuck at 100 mph after the collision, police added, with the two victims absorbing the immediate impact of the collision.
Howard was pronounced deceased at Valley Medical Center. The adult victim sustained head and spinal injuries.
Police said that witnesses described Su’s behavior as “erratic and insensible,” and that his reaction was “insincere” and he “did not show remorse” when told of the toddler’s death.
The collision also occurred at 12:01 p.m. — a time when Su “reasonably would have known that at this time of day it would be busy with vehicle traffic, bicycle traffic and pedestrian foot traffic” as employees left the campus for lunch, police said. Because he was an Apple employee, he should have known the speed limit on the road.
Su was treated at a hospital for a broken finger, authorities said. He was initially arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter before prosecutors charged him with murder.
Source: www.mercurynews.com
