MANSLAUGHTER CHARGES:

Santa Barbara prosecutors filed misdemeanor manslaughter charges
against Marcos Angel Almaguer, the asphalt truck driver who
accidentally ran over UCSB tri-athlete Kendra Payne as she rode her
bicycle up winding Gibraltar Road last January. Almaguer is
scheduled to appear in Santa Barbara court this Monday to enter a
plea. The road is in serious disrepair, and Almaguer tried to pass
Payne with his 18-wheel truck at one of the narrowest and most
dangerous points. According to California Highway Patrol (CHP)
reports, it appears Payne’s bike slipped as Almaguer sought to
pass, and she fell under the rear wheel of the truck.
Almaguer – who was described by CHP officers at the scene as
“distraught” – faces a maximum sentence of one year in county
probation. After Payne’s death, Assemblymember Pedro Nava
introduced a bill requiring bicyclists be given a three-foot
clearance by passing motorists.