Crime & Safety

Driver Involved in Fatal I-580 Collision to be Arraigned

Primitino Garcia, 53, has been free on bail and will be at the Gale Schenone Hall of Justice in Pleasanton facing charges of felony DUI and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in connection to the collision that killed EMT Reed Whittaker.

The driver involved in a fiery fatal collision on I-580 last week will appear in court this afternoon in Pleasanton. Primitino Garcia, 53, of Livermore will be at the Gale Schenone Hall of Justice at 2 p.m. for an arraignment. Garcia was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence after he was involved in collision on the morning of Dec. 12 that resulted in the death of a Livermore man.

[Related article: UPDATE: Driver Involved in Fatal I-580 Collision Arrested on Suspicion of Drunken Driving]

Livermore resident Reed Whittaker, 29, was killed in the collision after his Jeep Cherokee was struck from behind by Garcia's Hummer. According to CHP, the Jeep burst into flames that spread to the Hummer. Garcia and his passenger, a man in his 20s, were able to escape the collision wreckage with minor injuries. Garcia was arrested after he was treated at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Steve Creel. The collision shut down both directions of the I-580 in Livermore for several hours on Thursday.

[Related article: Driver Killed in Fiery I-580 Collision Identified]

Garcia has been free on $125,000 bail after being booked into the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, according to court records. Meanwhile, those who knew Whittaker, who was an EMT and a supervisor for Royal Ambulance in San Leandro, have been mourning the loss of the 29-year-old described as "dedicated" and "likable."

[Related article: 
EMT Killed in I-580 Collision Remembered as 'Dedicated and Likable']

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