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A Pleasanton man has been charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter for the Valentine’s Day morning crash on Hopyard Road that killed a mother and seriously injured her son, the Weekly has learned.
Pleasanton police allege Jesus “Jesse” Ocampo Mangabay, 35, was driving approximately 20 mph over the speed limit northbound in his Chevrolet Impala when he sideswiped a Honda Civic, causing the Civic to crash into a light pole.
The driver of the Civic – 48-year-old Pleasanton resident Ana Paula Munaretto – sustained critical injuries and died at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley on the morning of Feb. 16. Munaretto was a kid club aide within Pleasanton Unified School District, according to district records. Her passenger son survived the collision but also suffered serious injuries.
The investigation into the fatal crash continued for months afterward and resulted in Mangabay being charged criminally by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office on July 14 with a single misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter, the Weekly has confirmed.
Mangabay is scheduled to appear in Alameda County Superior Court in Dublin this Tuesday morning for a pretrial hearing. It is not immediately clear whether he is yet represented by an attorney.
Munaretto’s death was the first traffic fatality of 2022 on Pleasanton city streets.
Police reported the collision occurred at around 6:50 a.m. Feb. 14 on Hopyard Road in the area of the Stoneridge Drive intersection, which is where the speed limit northbound shifts from 40 mph to 45 mph. Mangabay’s Impala was found to be going 64 mph, according to police.
“Traffic at the time was light to medium. This time of day is when commute traffic starts impacting the thoroughfares of Pleasanton. Traveling 64 mph, at this time of the day is an unsafe speed based on the traffic conditions,” Officer Joshua Christensen wrote in a probable cause declaration filed with the court.
Police also allege that toxicology testing identified the presence of benzoylecgonine – a compound created when the body starts to metabolize cocaine – as well as recorded amounts of THC, which is associated with marijuana use, in Mangabay’s system at the time of the crash, according to the probable cause declaration. However, any potential drug use did not translate into stronger criminal charges.
In this day and age of technology, we should use transponder data and license plate recognition to enforce speed laws. Police driving unmarked cars doing traffic enforcement would help too, as people all start driving very cautiously whenever they see a black and white car. Colorado has online sites to report bad driving, and when a car gets too many reports, police will go talk to the person. The goal here in California seems to be to move traffic as quickly as possible so more cars can get through our crowded roads.