SAN FRANCISCO—On Friday, May 30, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office announced that Manuel Diaz-Chi, 28, was charged in connection to a fatal traffic collision in SOMA. He was arraigned on May 29, and pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied all allegations.
He is charged with vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated (PC 191.5(b)), driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury (VC 23153(a)) with an allegation and driving under the influence of alcohol with a .08 percent BAC causing injury. The criminal complaint also alleges that Mr. Diaz-Chi’s blood alcohol concentration was .15 percent or higher (VC 23578) and that he inflicted great bodily injury on the victim (PC 12022.7(b)).
According to court documents, on May 27, at 5:06 a.m., the defendant was driving a Mazda van on 10th Street towards Folsom St. Allegedly, he had been drinking alcohol all night on May 26 and in the early morning hours of May 27.
Allegedly, Mr. Diaz-Chi was intoxicated and following the other vehicles too closely as he drove through the intersection of 10th Street and Folsom Street. Allegedly, he was unable to slow down as he accelerated around other vehicles and ran the victim over who was in the middle of the intersection.
The victim was dragged for a block until Diaz-Chi pulled over on the 400 block of 10th Street. Officers with the San Francisco Police Department arrived on scene and found the victim underneath the defendant’s car. Medics transported the victim to a hospital where she was later pronounced dead. The name and age of the victim has not been disclosed to the public.
When officers contacted Diaz-Chi, he displayed objective symptoms of intoxication. Officers spotted bottles of beer inside his car and he declined to perform field sobriety tests but consented to a breath test. The results of the chemical breath test showed his BAC at 8 AM was .16%.
The District Attorney’s Office moved to have the defendant detained pending trial due to the public safety risk he poses. The court set bail without prejudice in the amount of $80,000. He is currently in custody and his next court date is June 3 for a bail review hearing.
The SFPD is still investigating the case. Anyone with details can contact the SFPD
Tip Line at 415-575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD.
