An Air Force airman will be prosecuted in the military justice system for a fatal crash that killed a colleague last summer near Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Nicholas S. DiBona, 21, of Fuquay-Varina, N.C., died July 13 when the car in which he was riding overturned off Highway 1 near Santa Lucia Canyon Road.
The driver, Donald W.S. Cox, 21, and another passenger, John C. Rivera, 22, both of Lompoc, suffered moderate injuries in the wreck.
All three were airmen stationed at VAFB.
The California Highway Patrol said Cox’s 2006 Subaru was traveling southbound on the highway at a high rate of speed when it drifted off the right side of the road and down an embankment.
DiBona, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, was fatally injured and declared dead at the scene.
Paul Greco, chief deputy district attorney for Santa Barbara County, said his office received a request from VAFB prosecutors for jurisdiction of the case under federal law.
The crash occurred in an area that has concurrent jurisdiction, Greco said. The public highway is on base property with right-of-way easements allowing civilians to travel between the Lompoc and Santa Maria valleys.
The Air Force’s decision to handle prosecuting the case came after the CHP submitted the accident report for review and possible charges to the District Attorney’s Office.
After meeting with those involved and consulting with the victim’s family, a joint decision was made recently for the Air Force to proceed with prosecution, Greco said.
“Our office is following the military prosecution of it,” he said.
Authorities initially said alcohol and drugs did not appear to be a factor in the wreck.
Greco said investigators determined the driver was going “significantly over the speed limit” when the crash occurred.
Meanwhile, another airman is facing a charge of homicide by vehicle in New Mexico for his actions while driving a car that also crashed July 13, killing an airman from Santa Maria.
Clovis, N.M., police say Tylan Bolden, 20, was driving at a high speed just before the crash. Andrew Padilla, 22, was ejected from the car and died of his injuries.
Both were enlisted airmen stationed at Cannon Air Force Base outside Clovis in eastern New Mexico.
“The Major Crash Team of the Clovis Police Department investigated the crash and found that the box in the car showed a speed of at least 124 miles per hour and possibly more when the crash occurred,” Ninth Judicial District Attorney Andrea Reeb said in a news release.
Reed announced in October that a Curry County Grand Jury had indicted Bolden on the charge of homicide by vehicle.
Bolden was arraigned last fall and entered a not guilty plea.
Attorneys on both sides just held a pre-trial conference with the judge, and court officials are in the process of scheduling what’s expected to be a five-day trial, said Matthew Andrasko, assistant district attorney.
He estimated the trial will occur in March or April.
“At this point we’re just preparing for trial,” he told Noozhawk.
If found guilty of the special third-degree felony charge, Bolden faces a maximum sentence of six years in prison.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.