A traffic collision that killed two in Santa Maria in early February resulted in murder charges against 25-year-old Cameron Wesley Oliver.
Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley announced on Feb. 23 that Oliver had been charged with two counts of murder and a felony violation of driving with a blood alcohol content exceeding the legal limit of .08 percent, with additional special allegations.
Commonly, when drunk driving incidents result in death, the intoxicated drivers face vehicular manslaughter charges. But Dudley said in a press release that murder charges were warranted in Oliver’s case.
“Driving under the influence of any intoxicating substance can cause death,” Dudley said in the release. “When specific factual and legal circumstances are alleged to have occurred, the driver will be charged with murder.”
The Sun’s calls to the District Attorney’s office for comment were not returned before press time.
Court documents allege that Oliver “unlawfully, and with malice aforethought” murdered Leann Stauffer and Tricia Jensen. Stauffer and Jensen were passengers in Oliver’s vehicle in the Feb. 6 incident, and they died as a result. Brian Scott Freeborn, a third passenger, also sustained injuries.
Oliver was driving at speeds exceeding 125 mph with a blood alcohol content of 0.19 percent or higher, according to the felony complaint.
The complaint also alleged that Oliver is ineligible to serve in state prison due to a prior conviction, which would subject him to a sentence to be served in the county jail.
California Highway Patrol officers arrested Oliver on Feb. 23, according to the District Attorney’s office press release. His case was heard in the Santa Barbara County Superior Court on Feb. 27, and his arraignment was continued to March 6, at 8:30 a.m.
A previous version of this story indicated that Stauffer and Jensen were passengers in a separate vehicle.
This article appears in Mar 2-9, 2017.
