Two drivers charged in fatal 2015 crash near Ceres; DUI suspected

Authorities this week issued vehicular manslaughter charges against two drivers involved in a fatal crash during which both are suspected of having been drunk and running stop signs. A passenger in one car died.

Shannon Wayne Dunkirk, 21, of Waterford and Andrew Vazquez, 25, of Modesto were charged Monday. Dunkirk was booked after a court appearance on an unrelated matter Thursday; Vazquez remains at large.

The crash occurred just before 1 a.m. Jan. 10, 2015, at Morgan and Grayson roads south of Ceres, said California Highway Patrol Officer Chuck Leon.

Dunkirk was driving west in an Acura on Grayson, and Vazquez was traveling north in a Honda on Morgan. Both ran stop signs at the four-way controlled intersection and collided, Leon said.

Both vehicles left the roadway in a northwesterly direction, crashed through a fence and came to rest in a field, Leon said.

The passenger in Vazquez’s car, 26-year-old Marco Ruelas of Newman, was not wearing a seat belt. He was taken to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, where he died four days later.

The driver and three passengers in Dunkirk’s car suffered minor injuries or were unhurt.

Leon said Vazquez and Ruelas were coming from work at Bronco Wine Co., just 2 miles away. Bronco officials declined to comment about the employees or whether Vazquez is still employed there.

Vazquez was arrested the night of the crash on suspicion of felony drunken driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or higher, according to Leon.

Dunkirk was booked on the same charges, as well as possession of marijuana and hash oil and DUI under the age of 21. He was 20 when the crash occurred.

Leon said Dunkirk had been drinking for several hours at a friend’s house in Ceres prior to the crash, and that he obtained the alcohol by getting a homeless man to buy it for him.

This story was originally published February 26, 2016 at 4:36 PM with the headline "Two drivers charged in fatal 2015 crash near Ceres; DUI suspected."