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Prosecutors have filed a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter against a Stanislaus County man for allegedly causing the two-vehicle collision that killed Livermore winery owner Mitchell Katz last summer.
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office confirmed the charge against Emilio Chambers Cruz in recent days but declined to release further details about the new criminal case.
The Livermore Police Department previously reported that speeding erratically and passing unsafely were at play for the 27-year-old driver from Westley whose Subaru struck Katz’s GMC SUV on East Avenue near Mitra Street on the afternoon of July 21.
Katz, a father of two and a well-known Livermore Valley winery owner who operated his Mitchell Katz Winery not far away on South Vasco Road, sustained critical injuries in the collision and later died at an area hospital. He was 59. Police subsequently reported that he was not wearing a seat belt at the time.
Livermore police completed their investigation in December and forwarded the case to the DA’s office for consideration of criminal charges. Prosecutors ultimately filed a count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter against Chambers Cruz on Jan. 29.
Chambers Cruz has no attorney on record for the case, according to the Alameda County Superior Court app. His arraignment has been scheduled for Feb. 26 at the East County Hall of Justice in Dublin.
The filing of the criminal complaint represented the first time Chambers Cruz had been publicly identified as the other driver in the Katz case. As he was not arrested at the scene, police declined to release his name until criminal charges were lodged.
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