Tragedy in Tulare:
Tulare County, California — A former Dinuba school principal is facing murder charges, accused of driving drunk and crashing into another vehicle near Reedley, killing a mother and her daughter.
43-year-old Blake Benham is charged with the deaths of 55-year-old Gloria Barajas and her 35-year-old daughter, Brenda Quinonez, in the crash that occurred last December on Road 56 near Avenue 430.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) reports that Barajas and Quinonez were heading home from Christmas shopping at the Tulare Outlets with Gloria's husband and younger daughter.
As they were driving north in their Nissan Rogue, officers say a Ford pickup truck driven by Benham veered into their lane, colliding head-on with the family’s SUV.
The crash resulted in the deaths of Barajas and Quinonez, and sent the other two family members to Community Regional Medical Center.
CHP states that Benham was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.
At the time of the crash, Benham was the Principal of Kennedy Elementary School but has been on administrative leave since the incident.
The Tulare County District Attorney’s Office reports that Benham surrendered to CHP officers on Wednesday without incident. If convicted, Benham faces life in prison.
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