DA files murder charges against Dinuba principal suspected of DUI crash that killed 2
A Dinuba elementary school principal faces murder charges in a suspected drunken driving crash that ended with the deaths of two members of a Reedley family, according to the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office.
Charges were filed against Blake Thomas Benham, 43, for two counts of murder, two counts of driving while under the influence and causing injury with a blood alcohol level higher than 0.15% and other charges related to other passengers who were injured but survived, prosecutors said in a news release on Wednesday.
Benham was arrested Wednesday at his home without incident, according to the California Highway Patrol.
He was placed on administrative leave from Kennedy Elementary in Dinuba after the crash became public, officials from the Dinuba Unified School District said in December.
The CHP said investigators believed Benham was intoxicated while driving about 6:15 p.m. Dec. 3 on Road 56 just north of Avenue 430 near Reedley when he allowed his Ford F-150 to cross the center line into the southbound lane.
The truck collided head-on with a Nissan Rogue, killing Gloria Jaime Barajas, 55, and her daughter, 35-year-old Brenda Quinonez, CHP said.
The driver, a 55-year-old man, and another passenger, a 31-year-old woman, were taken to Community Regional Medical Center on the night of the crash with serious injuries, CHP said. They survived.
Benham was evaluated for a suspected DUI on the night of the crash, CHP said. He was released on bail.
If convicted, Benham faces life in prison, prosecutors said.
