The Manteca soldier severely injured in an accident involving another driver who was drunk on early New Year’s Day had a blood alcohol content in excess of .08 at the time of the crash.
Nicholas Cargill’s family contended the soldier had not been drinking and stated that repeatedly on social media sites.
Edgar Carrillo, 24, of Manteca — the driver arrested for felony drunk driving that day — was in court Thursday when the revelation was made. The reading came from blood samples taken from Cargill in the emergency room following standard procedures. Unlike breath tests administered at the scene of a DUI incident, blood test results aren’t known for a number of days or even weeks.
Carrillo continues to be held on $500,000 bail. He is due back in court on Feb. 12.
The defendant’s wife, Gabriel Carrillo says she has been harassed repeatedly on Facebook with hate mail coming from members of the community targeting.
“I don’t condone what he did but others make mistakes, too,” she said.
Gabriel Carrillo said she and her two children can’t go out in the community without being scorned. People at her convenience store workplace sometimes throw the items they want to buy at her behind the counter, she added. She said she has been worried her husband might go to prison over the crash. Income from her husband’s warehouse job has been curtailed with her and her children living on the small income from her part-time job.
A former student at Shasta School and Manteca High School, she said she and her husband had struggled for some five years to save enough money so they wouldn’t be a burden living with relatives. But this week PG&E shut down their utility service. She said she had taken them her last $100 quoting their response that they couldn’t reconnect their gas and electricity until she paid the remaining $100. A community member who heard of her plight and that of her children gave her the money on the spot and she went directly to the utility.
The woman said that each time she has visited her husband in county jail that he appeared very depressed and looked like a dead man staring into the wall. He has never been involved in trouble before.
“People who know me tell me to keep my head up. Others who knew me and jumped on the band wagon against me have apologized,” she said.
Both drivers had blood alcohol counts over the .08 level, according to Manteca Police in a release issued Friday afternoon. However, the only driver to be charged with a DUI was Carrillo who had been driving his Dodge Ram pickup on Airport Way reportedly failing to stop at the Woodward Avenue intersection where he and Cargill, also 24, collided. The Carrillo pickup rolled over after crushing Cargill’s Chevrolet Lumina traveling westbound. Cargill had to be cut out of his Honda by fire personnel using the Jaws of Life.
Carrillo crawled out of his vehicle and was arrested for felony drunk driving for being under the influence and refused medical treatment and was evaluated by officers with his blood alcohol
Cargill was home on a two-week leave after serving two tours in Iraq. He was preparing to go to Afghanistan.
The community has raised more than $15,000 for Cargill’s expenses that the Army may not cover.
Manteca Police Sgt. Jodie Estarziau said the information on the second blood alcohol test has been sent to the District Attorney’s Office for further consideration in the case.
Carrillo’s wife said she only hopes the revelation of the second driver’s DUI suspicion might reduce her husband’s bail about down from the current $500,000 level.
