Driver hauling large boat in deadly south Carson City crash pleads guilty
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Thu, 06/09/2022 - 8:50am
The driver of a pickup hauling a large boat from Lake Tahoe that lost its brakes on Highway 50 near the I-580 and South Carson Street junction on Nov. 9 killing a Dayton couple and injuring 11 others, has pled guilty to two counts each of felony reckless driving causing death and substantial bodily harm.
Roney Rolando Gonzalez-Otazo, 25, of Hollywood, Fla., pled guilty last month in a deal reached with the Carson City District Attorney's Office, said Garrit S. Pruyt, chief deputy district attorney. The plea agreement was for two counts of reckless driving causing death and substantial bodily harm.
A Dayton couple, Tana Powell, 70, and Don Powell, 74, died in the crash. Two others, a man and woman, suffered substantial bodily harm in the crash.
Sentencing will be July 21, where he is expected to serve 18 to 60 months for each count. The agreement is for no probation, which will also be determined by a judge.
For the two counts of reckless driving causing death and substantial bodily harm, the DA's office criminal report says Gonzalez-Otaz was negligent acting in willful or wanton disregard to the safety of persons or property by exhibiting the following:
By failing to ensure the safety of his load, by failing to use proper transporting equipment, by failing to obtain permitting and/or licensing, by failing to use oversized load safety precautions; by failing to utilize wide and heavy load safety precautions, by failing to use a trailer with functioning brakes when towing a boat weighing approximately 37,000 pounds on a trailer with a maximum load capacity of approximately 28,000 pounds; by utilizing a truck with a maximum rated loaded capacity of approximately 21,000 pounds to pull an approximate 37,000 boat; by pulling the aforementioned boat upon a highway which descends from 7,146 feet to 4,802 feet in less than 13 miles; by failing to utilize hard or soft shoulders to stop the vehicle, by failing to use one or more runaway truck ramps to stop the vehicle and by failing to utilize highway guard rails to slow or stop the descent of the vehicle prior to driving through a red traffic signal which caused a collision and death Don Arthur Powell, Tana Suzanne Powell and causing substantial bodily harm to two others.
NHP's investigation showed that the white 2017 Ford F-350 Super Duty pickup driven by Gonzalez-Otazo, was towing a 44-foot boat traveling east on US-50. The Ford F-350 failed to obey a red traffic light and entered the intersection with South Carson Street.
NHP says the driver of the Ford F-350 was experiencing "extreme brake failure" traveling down the grade as the payload was approximately 37,000 pounds. The crash at the intersection resulted in the boat dislodging from the vehicle, which was located a significant distance from initial impact.
A silver 2015 GMC Sierra 1500 pickup was traveling south on South Carson Street in the intersection with US- 50 and entered the path of the Ford F-350. The front of the Ford F-350 struck the right side of the GMC Sierra. The Ford F-350 rotated clockwise and separated from the boat trailer. The boat trailer continued east through the intersection.
Two passengers from the GMC Sierra, Tana Powell, a 70-year-old Dayton resident and Don Powell, a 74-year-old Dayton resident, died in the crash.
