A Sacramento man was found guilty on Monday of seven felonies in connection with a hit-and-run car crash that killed four people on Interstate Highway 80 near El Portal Drive in 2017, according to the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office.
Fred Lowe, who faces a maximum sentence of over 125 years to life in prison, was traveling at an unsafe speed eastbound on I-80 when his car sideswiped a Nissan rogue west of El Portal Drive.
The crash forced the Nissan Rogue against and over the center divider, where it was hit by two westbound vehicles. Killed in the crash were Joseph Horn, his father Darryl, Baden Biddle and his father Troy Biddle. Joe Horn’s older brother Jared was the driver of the Nissan Rogue and was only slightly injured. The Biddle Family were relatives of the Horn’s visiting from out of state over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Daryl Horn was a well respected member of the Napa community as an active member of the Napa Valley Baseball Club, a little league program.
Three additional people were injured in the cars that struck the Nissan Rogue in westbound traffic.
After the fatal crash, Lowe fled the scene and was later found by law enforcement officers, according to prosecutors. Lowe had five prior DUI convictions, and an expert testified that his blood alcohol level at the time of the crash would have been about .24 percent.
Lowe will be sentenced March 29, prosecutors said.
“The tragic loss of life in each of these incidents underscores the very real danger to the citizens of our County when drivers choose to get behind the wheel and drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs,” the DA’s Office said.
