Driver charged in deadly Highway 135 crash to stand trial
SANTA MARIA, Calif. - A Santa Maria man facing murder charges for a deadly crash on Highway 135 will face trial.
Gilbert Pena, 57, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder. A judge decided this week that he would stand trial for the charges.
The crash happened in February.
CHP investigators say Pena, a semi-truck driver, was driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol when he plowed into several cars stopped at a red light on the southbound side of Highway 135 near West Union Valley Parkway, between Santa Maria and Orcutt.
Rickie Motley, 60, of Orcutt and his passenger Jesse Donald Gluyas, 24, of Solvang were killed in the crash. Several other people were hurt.
Pena is due back in court on December 31.
He is still being held in Santa Barbara County Jail on $2,000,000 bail.
