SUPERIOR Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho has recused himself from hearing the homicide-by-vehicle case against Eduardo Fabia because of a conflict. The judge did not elaborate.
Joseph N. Camacho
The preliminary hearing scheduled for Feb. 17 will now be heard on Feb. 18 by Judge Kenneth Govendo (not Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja as earlier reported).
Fabia, 49, was the driver of an Artman garbage compactor truck that collided with a Honda Ridgeline pickup truck at the Puerto Rico intersection on Feb. 1. The collision resulted in the death of one of the two passengers in the pickup.
Fabia was arrested by police on the evening of Feb. 5 and was charged with traffic signal violations, false report, and homicide by vehicle.
Assistant Attorney General Steve Kessel told Variety that additional charges of reckless driving and speeding have been filed against Fabia.
Fabia was released to a third-party custodian, his wife, after posting a $1,000 cash bail and a $99,000 appearance bond.
Department of Public Safety traffic investigator Lt. Norris Kwon said he learned from three eyewitnesses that it was the garbage compactor truck that failed to stop at a red traffic light and ended up colliding with a Honda Ridgeline pickup truck that was making a left turn at the Puerto Rico intersection on the morning of Feb. 1, 2021.
The two passengers in the pickup truck were riding in the bed of the Honda Ridgeline and were thrown out of the vehicle during the collision, DPS said.
Both were rushed to the hospital where one of them was pronounced dead on arrival at about 1:39 p.m., Feb. 1. The other passenger was treated and admitted for serious injuries. The vehicle operator was treated and released while the two occupants of the garbage truck — Fabia and his passenger, Christopher Lucero — were not injured.
Kwon said the pickup truck passenger who died was Raju Miah while the other passenger, Rommel Irang, sustained serious injuries. The pickup’s driver/operator, Quin C. Manglona, was treated at the hospital and discharged.
