SUV In Fatal Concord Wreck Involved In Earlier Drug Citation
CONCORD (CBS) - The suspect vehicle in a double-fatal crash in Concord earlier this month was also involved in a citation for drug and weapons possession a week before the collision, according to police records.
The morning of April 8, a 17-year-old driver lost control of his Cadillac Escalade and struck Concord resident Solaiman Nuri, 41, and his 9-year-old and 12-year-old daughters. Nuri and the 9-year-old, Hadessa, were killed and the 12-year-old girl suffered minor injuries.
Police records show that just before 11 p.m. on March 30, a juvenile driver of the same Cadillac Escalade was cited in Walnut Creek for narcotics and weapons possession.
The juvenile's name was redacted from the police report, and police have declined to release the name of the driver because of his age.
Walnut Creek police were not immediately available this morning for comment on the citation.
The 17-year-old Concord resident was arrested after the fatal crash on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and booked into juvenile hall in Martinez but was released two days later pending the results of a full investigation, according to Concord police.
"We have a lot of steps we have to take in order to bring the case to district attorney's office," Concord police Lt. Bill Roche said.
Roche said the earlier drug and weapons citation is a factor in that investigation.
The lieutenant said it will likely be more than two weeks before the investigation is complete and the Contra Costa District Attorney's Office can determine whether to file charges against the driver.
For now, investigators are poring over the teen's cellphone records to determine whether he was using the phone at the time of the crash and are awaiting the results of toxicology tests to see if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Police are also interviewing additional witnesses to the crash that have come forward recently and are adding that input to the investigation's findings, Roche said.
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