Man pleads not guilty to manslaughter, DUI in deadly I-805 crash

A 27-year-old San Diego man on Wednesday pleaded not guilty to multiple felony charges, including manslaughter and driving under the influence, in connection with a five-car crash on Interstate 805 over the weekend that left a grandmother dead and several others injured.

Prosecutors allege Markus Turner smoked marijuana and drank alcohol before getting behind the wheel, hitting more than 100 miles per hour before the crash that unfolded just before 9 a.m. Saturday on the freeway near 43rd Street.

Turner was driving a black Honda sedan south when he struck a silver Toyota that was parked on the shoulder, according to the California Highway Patrol. Inside that Toyota was 65-year-old Grasiela Gomez, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Gomez’s family said she was driving from her home in Temecula to a mechanic they knew in Chula Vista when the car started to overheat, so she pulled over to call for help. Her family said she was a teacher, homeschooling three of her grandchildren, who were in disbelief.

“It has been hard for them,” said Gomez’s ex-husband Ismael Gomez. “They could not accept that she was dead.”

“The oldest looked at me and said, ‘The doctor is wrong, she’s in a coma, get another doctor,’” Ismael Gomez continued. “Everywhere we go, there’s a memory for them.”

Grasiela Gomez’s car was the first hit in the five-car crash, authorities say. Turner, his two passengers and another driver were all hospitalized with injuries ranging from minor to major, CHP said.

Prosecutors on Wednesday asked the judge to increase Turner’s bail to $5 million, highlighting that he was already on probation for two misdemeanor cases at the time of the crash and arguing he had “no regard for anybody’s safety.”

“Defendant cut across all five lanes of the freeway from the fast lane to the slow lane in an attempt to get around what he would later describe as quote unquote slow traffic,” Deputy District Attorney Evan Andersen said.

Andersen said Turner admitted to investigators that he had smoked about seven grams of marijuana before the crash but denied drinking alcohol – alleging that a blood test four hours later showed a blood alcohol content of .165.

Turner’s public defender asked for supervised release, making note of about a dozen family members who attended the hearing as a show of support.

Turner stood close to the window of the courtroom’s holding cell, his breath fogging up the glass as he nodded his head at his relatives in attendance.

“He is not a flight risk. He understands the seriousness of this case and will abide by all of the court's conditions,” public defender Jeremy Fredericksen-Aguilar said, adding that Turner could not afford any bail.

Ultimately the judge kept his bail at $500,000 and ordered – if he does post bail – he cannot consume alcohol or drive, among other conditions. He was next scheduled to appear in court on May 15.