Hearing set in accident that killed family

Almost a year after a traffic accident that killed six members of an Olivehurst family, a preliminary hearing date was set Friday for the Linda man charged in their deaths.

The Oct. 11 hearing in Yuba County Superior Court will determine whether enough evidence exists to try Bradley Charles Bledsoe on six counts each of second-degree homicide and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

Killed in the Sept. 16 accident on Highway 70 just south of Marysville were Tomas and Maribel Negrete; their two children, Eric, 3, and Cesar, 6 months; and Maribel Negrete’s parents, Jose and Maria Raya. The family’s van left the highway and struck a tree.

Eight family members attended Friday’s hearing before Judge Julia Scrogin.

“It was explained to us that it would be a long process, and we understand. We wish it was quicker,” said Margarita Santillan of Yuba City, Maribel Negrete’s cousin.

Written translations of testimony at the preliminary hearing will be supplied to Spanish-speaking family members, said Sandy Fonley, coordinator of the county’s Victim/Witness Assistance Program.

Much of the testimony is expected to be technical, provided by California Highway Patrol officers and investigators.

The lead prosecutor in the case, Deputy District Attorney Brad Enos, attributed the delay partly to an exhaustive investigation of the accident by the CHP’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team, which produced a 300-page-plus report.

“We wanted to cover all the bases,” said Enos, including Bledsoe’s driving pattern just before the accident.

Bledsoe allegedly was driving drunk after leaving a Yuba City bar with a friend.

The Public Defender’s Office, which is representing Bledsoe, also needed time to line up its own expert witnesses, he said.

Bledsoe is being held in the Yuba County Jail without bail.

Appeal-Democrat reporter Rob Young can be reached at 749-4710. You may e-mail him at ryoung@appealdemocrat.com