Fatal San Jose Crash Caused by Insulin Overdose
The erratic driving of a 52-year-old diabetic man that triggered a fatal car accident last summer may have been caused by an insulin overdose, according to a May 18 news report in the San Jose Mercury News .
Officials charged the Paso Robles man with two counts of vehicular manslaughter after a ten month investigation. The charge states that the man was intoxicated and driving under the influence of insulin, certainly an unusual situation. According to a police report cited by the Mercury News, there was no evidence of other drugs or alcohol in Mayfield’s body.
The driver worked for Pacific Gas and Electric and was actually driving a company truck when he lost control and veered off the road, striking three cars waiting at a traffic signal. The cars exploded, killing two 20-year-olds, Mary Bernstein and Robert Conway, and injuring seven others. The driver of the truck faces 16 years and eight months in prison if convicted.
According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, about 3,000 of the state’s 22 million drivers had their license restricted or revoked because of high insulin intake in 2004 and 2005.
If the case goes to trial in either civil or criminal court, it is difficult to ascertain how much fault a prospective jury would find on the part of the driver and his employer, PG&E, since insulin is a prescribed drug and diabetes is typically a self-managed condition. What is clear is the magnitude of the tragedy for the family of the victims who died and were injured in the accident.
