Ceres Police Recommend Manslaughter Charge Against Driver In Fatal Accident

CERES, Calif. (CBS13) — Ceres Police are recommending criminal charges against the driver of a truck who hit four teenage girls, killing one, last Wednesday.

Police are recommending a charge of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence against 45-year-old Larry Duke.

Duke was at the wheel of his Chevrolet pickup truck when he slammed into the girls from Mae Hensley Junior High.

Danielle Tarancon, 13, was killed and another girl was airlifted to the UC Davis Medical Center with critical injuries. A third girl was taken to a local hospital for non-critical injuries, and the fourth student, Alexis Deleon, suffered a bump to the leg.

A fifth victim apparently suffered minor scrapes when the truck came to a stop after the accident.

Witnesses say Tarancon pushed her friends out of the way before she was killed.