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Driver in I-5 Wrong-Way Crash to Stand Trial in Motorcycle Rider's Death

CHP officer said the victim in the December collision "didn't stand a chance"

A man accused of driving the wrong way on Interstate 5 near the U.S.-Mexico border and causing a collision that killed a motorcycle rider is mentally competent to stand trial, a judge ruled Friday.

Richard Gideon Hammond, 28, of San Diego was heading north on the southbound side of the freeway about 5:15 a.m. on Dec. 3 when his 2007 Mazda 3 sedan crashed into an oncoming 2016 Yamaha motorcycle near Dairy Mart Road in Nestor, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Hammond's car spun and was hit by a 2000 Dodge Dakota truck driven by a 33-year-old National City woman, who had three children in her vehicle.

Daniel Reyes, 27, of Chula Vista, died at the scene.

Hammond and the driver of the truck were treated for minor injuries. The children were not hurt.

Judge Joseph Brannigan reinstated criminal proceedings against Hammond and scheduled a readiness conference in the South Bay for June 30. A preliminary hearing is set for July 13.

Hammond faces six years in prison if convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter.

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