Oxnard Driver Charged with Murder After 8-Car Pileup Kills Two Men

David Mora, 29, turned himself in and was booked on two felony murder counts after a red-light crash in Oxnard killed two men and injured five others.

Oxnard Driver Booked on Two Murder Counts After Deadly Eight-Car Crash

David Mora, 29, of Santa Paula turned himself in to Oxnard police on Friday at 8 p.m. and was booked on two felony counts of murder under California Penal Code 187(A), NY Post Metro reports. His bail has been set at $5 million.

The charges stem from a September 25 crash in which Mora allegedly ran a red light in his 2018 GMC Sierra pickup and struck two vehicles — a 1998 Toyota Avalon and a 2005 Honda Civic — that were traveling through the intersection on a green light. The collision grew into an eight-car pileup that left four of the involved vehicles with major damage.

The drivers of both struck vehicles, two unidentified men aged 31 and 58, were pronounced dead at the scene. Five additional people were injured, four of whom required hospitalization.

Mora was taken into custody eight days after the crash, following an investigation by traffic officers who gathered sufficient evidence to pursue charges. He was arrested on a Ramey warrant, a legal mechanism that permits police to make an arrest before prosecutors have formally filed charges. His listed occupation is engineer.

Traffic investigators previously indicated, according to CBS, that speed and impairment by alcohol and/or drugs were believed to be contributing factors in the crash.

Mora has since been transferred to Ventura County Jail. Booking logs show his next court appearance is scheduled for October 6 at Ventura County Superior Court.

Video footage from the aftermath showed vehicles scattered across the crash site, a heavily burned section of debris at the front of the wreck, and two vehicles near or beneath light poles that had toppled during the collision.

Oxnard is located approximately 60 miles west of downtown Los Angeles.

Source: NY Post Metro