Driver arrested in fatal El Monte crash

The driver involved in a Mountain View crash that killed a pedestrian will be facing criminal charges, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. The driver, identified as Los Altos resident Glenn Tad Kawaguchi, 61, was arrested April 6, on one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.

Kawaguchi was released the same night after posting $25,000 bail, and his attorney says he intends to plead not guilty.

The accident occurred on the morning of Oct. 22 at El Monte Road near the intersection of Marich Way. The victim, 54-year-old Michelle Montalvo of Los Altos, was hit by Kawaguchi’s SUV while crossing the street in a marked crosswalk. At the time, Montalvo was just a few steps behind her sister.

In his testimony at the scene, Kawaguchi said he couldn’t see Montalvo until it was too late. The accident occurred before the sun had risen and Montalvo was wearing dark clothing, said Steven Nakano, an attorney representing Kawaguchi. While drivers must yield to people crossing the street, pedestrians are still legally responsible for exercising caution when using a crosswalk, he said.

“The real question here is whether my client could have seen them in order to give them the right of way,” Nakano said. “This was before sunrise, the driver was going the speed limit, and his lights were on. The pedestrians could see the cars long before (the drivers) could see them.”

In fact, a Toyota Prius driver who was traveling in front of Kawaguchi’s SUV told police officers that she didn’t notice Montalvo or her sister until her car had entered the crosswalk.

Kawaguchi consented to a blood test, and police officials took a sample about 90 minutes after the accident, which showed no traces of drugs or alcohol. Kawaguchi assured officers he wasn’t distracted at the time, and he handed over his iPhone to show that he wasn’t texting or chatting while driving.

Officers tracked down a video of the crash taken from the camera of a nearby gas station, and they reported that Kawaguchi did not seem to be driving at an unreasonable speed at the time.

Nevertheless, officers concluded that Kawaguchi could bear responsibility for the crash, and they recommended he be charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian. Their reports were forwarded to the district attorney’s office for review. After reviewing the case for months, prosecutors announced last month they would pursue one charge of vehicular manslaughter.

If found at fault for the Montalvo’s death, Kawaguchi could face up to a year in jail as well as fines. Any potential sentencing would depend on a variety of factors, said Clarissa Hamilton, supervising deputy district attorney.

“It’s really too early to speculate on what he would get,” she said. “It would depend on the person’s circumstances, any criminal record and how (his) driving records is.”

Kawaguchi is scheduled to appear in court on May 11, Hamilton said.

Following the crash, city officials singled out El Monte Road as a location in need of safety improvements, saying that it presented a dangerous combination of poor visibility and a tendency for drivers to speed over the 35 mph limit.

In a review of capital improvement projects last month, Mountain View officials singled out the El Monte/Marich intersection for safety upgrades. Workers in recent weeks repainted nearby crosswalks and improved streetlights along the stretch to improve visibility.

Despite calls from the public for a traffic signal, Public Works Director Mike Fuller said a road analysis indicated that wouldn’t work well at that location. Other infrastructure to create a safe intersection would be more appropriate, he said, such as lighted crosswalks, median “refuge” islands, and curb bulb-outs.

The city budgeted $250,000 for improvements to El Monte Road. The capital improvement budget will be reviewed again by city officials in the coming weeks.

Email Mark Noack at mnoack@mv-voice.com