Not guilty plea in deadly 101 crash

<p>A Santa Rosa man pleaded not guilty Thursday to criminal charges, including vehicular manslaughter, stemming from a fiery crash on Highway 101 that killed five people.</p><p>In his first court appearance since his Dec. 20 arrest, Ryan Karr stood by his attorney and quietly answered, "Yes, sir" to Judge Lawrence Antolini's questions. He left court quickly following the hearing.</p><p>Karr, 26, was formally charged Thursday in connection with the Jan. 17 crash in which his Mitsubishi coupe rear-ended a Honda Civic stopped in rush-hour traffic just north of the Airport Boulevard overpass.</p><p>Five of the six occupants of the Civic were killed: Maria Lopez Camacho, 54; Fernando Flores Carlos, 7; Almadelia Mendera-Basurto, 16; and Edith Carlos Medina, 23, all of Windsor; and Carmina Solorio, 23, of Mexico. The only survivor, Christian Flores Carlos, then 4, was treated for severe burns and still is recovering.</p><p>The case against Karr includes five felony counts of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence, five misdemeanor counts of manslaughter without gross negligence and a single count of possessing or using cocaine.</p><p>The complaint handed to Karr's attorney in court showed a 12th charge, felony driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and causing injury to Christian.</p><p>But Deputy District Attorney Chuck Arden said after court that prosecutors do not intend to press that charge.</p><p>He said investigators believe Karr either used or possessed cocaine within 48 hours of the crash, but he said the charges filed do not require prosecutors to prove he was under the influence at the time.</p><p>Arden wouldn't comment more specifically on the cocaine allegations, saying the specifics of the case would become clearer in future court hearings.</p><p>Karr voluntarily submitted a blood sample shortly after the crash, according to the CHP.</p><p>Arden wouldn't comment on how much cocaine authorities believe Karr had in his system or how recently he may have ingested it.</p><p>In court Thursday, Arden handed defense attorney Andy Martinez a 5-inch-thick binder full of investigative reports regarding Karr. The tabbed, separate sections include information detectives gathered through search warrants about Karr's performance in traffic school, his cell phone records and toxicology reports from his blood test.</p><p>Martinez said he didn't know enough yet about what evidence is believed to support the charges to comment on Karr's alleged intoxication.</p><p>Antolini set a preliminary hearing for April 18. The prosecution's case is expected to last two days.</p><p>At a preliminary hearing, prosecutors must show there is probable cause to believe a defendant committed each crime charged. A judge then determines if there is enough evidence to move toward trial.</p><p>Defendants are permitted to, but often don't, call their own witnesses during preliminary hearings.</p><p>Martinez said he hadn't determined yet whether he will call on any defense witnesses during the hearing.</p><p>"The way this is charged, it may be very important to take care of some allegations early," he said.</p><p>Also Thursday, Antolini denied The Press Democrat's request to photograph the preliminary hearing, accepting both attorneys' objections. Both attorneys said they were worried about additional pretrial publicity for the case, which has caused strong emotions for supporters of the victims and Karr.</p><p>Shortly after the crash, Karr told officers he wasn't paying attention when his car struck the Honda, which caught fire and trapped the six people inside. Officers said at the time there was no indication of alcohol involvement.</p><p>Karr pleaded no contest to misdemeanor driving without a license in 2001 and felony receiving stolen property in 2002. He paid $260 in fines in the 2001 case and served less than a year in jail on the stolen property case.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 568-5312 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com.</p>