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A truck driver accused of killing six people because he allegedly had been driving more than 15 hours when he slammed into a minivan on the side of the road, causing it to burst into flames, was in court Tuesday.

Truck Driver Accused Of Killing Six In Gorman Van Crash Due Back In Court

A truck driver accused of killing six people because he allegedly had been driving more than 15 hours when he slammed into a minivan on the side of the road, causing it to burst into flames, was in court Tuesday.


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Richard Lopez, 70, of Walnut, faces six misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter and one misdemeanor count of failing to comply with California Highway Patrol rules regarding hours of service for drivers.

The commercial truck driver has been charged with the deaths of two women and four children: Connie Wu Li, 33; Flora Kuang, 33; Jayden Li, 5; Lucas Li, 3; Sky Ng, 4; and Venus Ng, 2; were in a van from Daly City that broke down and was partially blocking the right lane near Gorman School Road on June 28, 2016, prosecutors said.

The crash occurred when a 2016 Toyota Sienna minivan had a non-injury collision with a BMW, and then pulled over to the right side of the road, south of the Gorman School Road, around 3:28 a.m., according to Officer Pomeroy of the Fort Tejon Office of the California Highway Patrol.  

The BMW pulled over to the center divider, and the Sienna pulled over to right shoulder; however, the minivan was partially blocking the right-most lane, officials said.

From a previous story: GoFundMe Page Set Up For Families Of Six Killed In Gorman Crash

The 2016 Freightliner big rig driven by Lopez collided with the rear of the minivan at a speed of approximately 55 mph, according to a CHP report. The force of the collision drove the minivan down a dirt embankment and caused it to immediately catch fire.

One of the fathers in the car tried to evacuate the vehicle of the children along with CHP officials who arrived on scene. The severity of the flames made getting any of the children out of the car impossible, according to the report. The father was burned during the attempt.

The driver had not rested the legally mandated 10 hours after allegedly driving for more than 15 hours, according to the criminal complaint.

Moved by the tragedy of the incident, a GoFundMe account was set up by hospital officials at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital and it raised more than double its $10,000 goal. Henry Mayo matched all employee and physician donations.

Click here for a link to the GoFundMe account.

If convicted as charged, Lopez faces a possible maximum sentence of six years in jail.

Lopez pleaded not guilty in July 13 to the charges and is scheduled to return for a pretrial hearing on December 8 in Department S of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, San Fernando Branch.

The case remains under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.

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Truck Driver Accused Of Killing Six In Gorman Van Crash Due Back In Court

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About Perry Smith

Perry Smith is a print and broadcast journalist who has won several awards for his focused, hyperlocal community coverage in several different regions of the country. In addition to five years of experience covering the Santa Clarita Valley, Smith, a San Fernando Valley native, has worked in newspapers and news websites in Los Angeles, the Northwest, the Central Valley and the South, before coming to KHTS in 2012. To contact Smith, email him at Perry@hometownstation.com.