A man suspected of driving drunk in a horrific crash that killed three of his passengers and injured several others on Interstate 805 was booked into San Diego County Jail Tuesday, the California High Patrol confirmed.
CHP officials said San Diego resident William Cady, 25, was booked around 3:30 p.m. for his involvement in the fatal collision that happened Friday night along northbound I-805 at westbound State Route 52.
Cady is currently facing six charges, including three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter plus charges of driving under the influence causing great bodily injury. Cady is slated to appear in court Wednesday.
According to the CHP, the deadly crash happened at around 11:15 p.m. Friday when Cady – driving a 2000 Cadillac Escalade carrying five passengers – lost control along I-805 while merging onto SR-52.
The SUV, believed to have been speeding at the time, veered off the road and careened up an embankment, where the car then plowed into a cement pillar and rolled over multiple times, ultimately
coming to a halt in traffic lanes.
From there, a chain reaction-style collision followed, with a silver Acura crashing into the SUV, CHP officials said. Moments later, another vehicle slammed into the Acura then traveled down the embankment across both directions of traffic on eastbound SR-52, eventually landing on the south side of the road. A third vehicle was also involved in the chain reaction collisions.
CHP officials said five of the occupants of the Escalade were not wearing their seatbelts, and four of them were ejected from the vehicle. Two of the men ejected died at the scene.
The San Diego County Medical Examiner has identified those victims as Taylor Bednarski, 29, and Shon Gilliam, 23, both of San Diego.
Another occupant, Jeffrey Becker, 35, who was wearing his seatbelt, was also pronounced dead at the scene of the suspected DUI crash.
Cady was injured and was taken to a local hospital. He remained hospitalized until the time of his
booking on Tuesday.
The other passengers ejected from Cady’s vehicle – a 23-year-old man and 25-year-old man –sustained serious injuries and were also transported to local hospitals.
Two occupants inside the other cars involved in the chain reaction collision suffered minor injuries but are expected to make a full recovery.
CHP officials issued a SigAlert following the accident, shutting down I-805 at westbound SR-52 for hours as investigators worked to help the injured, collect evidence and clear the scene.
