Woodside man charged with manslaughter, DUI in crash that killed 2 of his friends
WOODSIDE – A 51-year-old man faces two counts of vehicular manslaughter and other charges for an alleged drunk driving crash on state Highway 35 near Woodside last month, San Mateo County prosecutors said Monday.
James Morton Worthington, a Woodside resident, had dinner and drinks on June 21 with two friends Henry Keating and Josh McGuigan at Alice's Restaurant, located on Highway 35, also known as Skyline Boulevard, according to the county District Attorney's Office.
The three then got into Worthington's sedan and allegedly drove on the winding Skyline Boulevard at speeds of about 90 mph before Worthington lost control of the car in the area of Reids Roost Road and crashed head-on into a tree, causing the car to catch fire, prosecutors said.
Witnesses pulled Worthington, who was unconscious, out of the vehicle and he was taken to Stanford Hospital with broken ribs and other injuries, while Keating and McGuigan were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the District Attorney's Office.
At the hospital, officers noted the smell of alcohol on Worthington, whose blood alcohol content was at .10% three-and-a-half hours after the crash, prosecutors said.
He made his initial appearance in court Friday to face the charges of vehicular manslaughter and DUI and pleaded not guilty.
Worthington, whose defense attorney was not immediately available for comment, remains in custody on $1 million bail and is set to return to court on Aug. 4 for a preliminary hearing.
