Driver Who Killed Napa Dad, Son Convicted Of 4 Counts Of Murder

MARTINEZ, CA — A Sacramento man was convicted this week of four counts of murder in a fatal DUI crash Thanksgiving weekend 2017 on Interstate Highway 80 in San Pablo that killed four family members — a father and son from Napa and two of their relatives visiting from Washington state, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office.

Jurors began deliberating Thursday, Feb. 28 in the trial of 49-year-old Fred Lowe, and on Monday, March 4 found him guilty of a total of seven felonies, including murder in the deaths of Joseph Horn, 14 and his father Darryl Horn, 50, of Napa and Baden Biddle, 12, and his father Troy Biddle, 52, of Bainbridge Island, Washington. The Biddles were family members of the Horns and were in town visiting for Thanksgiving, the DA's Office said.

Lowe is scheduled to be sentenced March 29 and faces over 125 years to life in California state prison, Contra Costa District Attorney's Office spokesman Scott Alonso said in a news release.

On Nov. 25, 2017, Joseph Horn’s older brother, Cal Berkeley baseball player Jared Horn, was driving his family members eastbound on I-80 in a Nissan Rogue SUV when they were struck by Lowe.

Lowe sideswiped the Rogue as he drove at an unsafe speed eastbound on I-80 west of El Portal Drive, the impact of which forced the SUV against and then over the center divider and into oncoming westbound traffic — where it was hit by two westbound vehicles, prosecutors said.

Five vehicles were involved in the collision, which left a debris field that spread out for several hundred feet on both sides of the roadway.

Three people in those vehicles were treated for serious injuries, authorities said.

Prosecutors said Lowe, who had five prior DUI convictions, got off the highway after the collision and parked his visibly damaged vehicle in a residential area off of San Pablo Dam Road. He was found and arrested nearby later that night.

When Lowe's blood was drawn four hours after the crash, his blood-alcohol content was measured at .19 percent; an expert testified that his blood-alcohol level at the time of the crash would have been approximately .24 percent, the DA's Office noted.

In addition to four counts of murder, the jury also found Lowe guilty of felony DUI causing injury within 10 years of other two DUI offenses; felony driving with a .08-percent BAC causing great bodily injury within 10 years of two other DUI offenses; six sentence enhancements of great bodily injury and great bodily injury of more than one victim; felony leaving the scene of an accident (hit-and-run); and special allegations of prior serious and/or violent felonies.

"The tragic loss of life in each of these incidents underscores the very real danger to the citizens of our County when drivers choose to get behind the wheel and drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs," Alonso said. "The District Attorney’s Office and the law enforcement agencies of Contra Costa County are committed to ensuring the safety of the public on our roadways and to the prosecution of those who drive under the influence to the fullest extent of the law."

Based on Lowe's prior convictions, and that he knew or should have known that driving while intoxicated could pose a danger to the public, prosecutor Derek Butts persuaded the jury to find him guilty of murder. At one point in the trial, he described Lowe as an "extreme offender."

In closing arguments, deputy public defender Sung Ae Choi questioned the evidence placing Lowe at the wheel of the Mercedes at the time of the crash. She also argued that Lowe had no motive to kill the victims, and that their deaths were not intentional.

Sung also cited the jury's instructions from Judge John Kennedy to avoid deciding Lowe's fate by prejudice, which might be difficult given his history of DUI convictions and that he was not licensed to drive at the time of the crash, or by sympathy for the victims, which might also be difficult given the scope of the tragedy.

Ultimately, the jury sided with the prosecution.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Napa Residents Killed In I-80 Crash Caused By Alleged DUI Driver
• Napa Teen Killed In I-80 Crash Was Redwood Middle School Student
• Cal Athlete Survives I-80 Crash That Kills 4 Relatives
• Jury Deliberates In Trial Of Driver Accused Of Killing 4 On I-80
• Trial Underway For Driver In I-80 Crash Deaths Of Napa Dad, Son

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.