LAKE COUNTY — A three-year-old vehicular manslaughter case was back in court for its sixth jury trial setting this week.
The trial will again be reset at a Feb. 4 court date in Department 3 of the Lake County courthouse before Superior Court Judge Arthur Mann.
Sean Thomas Selig, 23, of Upper Lake, is accused of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and felony hit and run in connection with an October 6, 2004 crash. Selig allegedly fled the scene where the overturned 2001 GMC Sierra truck he was allegedly driving was found with passenger Sammy Solario pinned underneath the passenger”s side of the truck”s crushed cabin. Solario died as a result of the accident.
“It”s a challenge because he (Selig) ran off,” prosecuting Lake County deputy district attorney David McKillop said. “That”s our challenge, to show he was the actual driver.”
The truck hit a parked vehicle on the shoulder of Lakeshore Drive near the Nice-Lucerne cutoff, hit a driveway and overturned, then hit a utility pole while airborne and came to rest on its roof, according to prosecuting deputy district attorney David McKillop.
Selig was not arrested in connection with the crash until Aug. 1, 2005, following a nearly 10-month investigation after the crash. McKillop said an analysis by the California Highway Patrol”s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) determined who was driving. While Selig”s blood alcohol level was not tested because he was not at the scene, McKillop said witnesses reported seeing him and Solario drinking at the Boathouse Bar & Barbecue on Lakeshore Boulevard in Nice prior to the accident.
The trial was most recently set to begin Jan. 23, but was reset because of scheduling conflicts. McKillop told the court that he will not try the case because he is leaving the Lake County District Attorney”s Office.
McKillop was hired in October 2006 under a grant from the Office of Traffic Safety as the prosecutor in charge of DUI cases at the Lake County District Attorney”s Office. District Attorney Jon Hopkins said Thursday that deputy district attorney John Langan will take McKillop”s place as the office”s vertical DUI prosecutor.
“There are a number of cases that need his (Langan”s) immediate attention,” Hopkins said.
“The other factor is that I worked with the investigation myself, filed the charges, put on the prelim and prepared case. If John Langan is tied up on other cases, I may try this one myself.”
Selig was booked into the Lake County Jail on Aug. 1, 2005 and released on bail four days later. His bail amount was $25,000. If convicted, McKillop said Selig could face a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.
A call to Selig”s defense attorney Judy Conard was not immediately returned.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
