The San Benito County District Attorney’s Office charged a
Gilroy man with second-degree murder for his role in a July 5
accident on Fairview Road that killed a Salinas man with ties to
the community.
The San Benito County District Attorney’s Office charged a Gilroy man with second-degree murder for his role in a July 5 accident on Fairview Road that killed a Salinas man with ties to the community.
A stoic Robert Orbuena stood almost motionless in San Benito County Superior Court Tuesday afternoon as Judge Steven Sanders read the charges against the 41-year-old.
Orbuena was charged with gross vehicular manslaughter along with the second-degree murder of Joseph Judnick, 48, according to court documents.
If Orbuena is convicted of the charges, he could be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole, according to the state penal code.
Police have said Orbuena has a prior conviction for a similar driving offense dating back to the early 1990s.
Judnick was the brother of longtime local volunteer and San Benito High School District Trustee Judy Rider.
“This is quite a tragedy for us,” Rider said in an earlier interview. “We’re all kind of in a state of shock right now.”
Rider said her brother was an experienced motorcycle rider and was just taking a routine ride to tryout a motorcycle.
The 4:25 p.m. accident happened when Judnick was driving a 2002 Harley-Davidson motorcycle southbound on Fairview Road at an unknown rate of speed, the CHP said.
As Judnick approached the Spring Grove Road intersection, a 1987 Dodge Ram van driven by Orbuena made a left turn directly in front of Judnick, the CHP said. Orbuena told officers that he saw the motorcycle approaching about 150 yards away.
Judnick applied his brakes to avoid the Dodge but skidded forward and struck the side of the van, the CHP said.
Judnick suffered severe head and body injuries and was taken by ambulance to Hazel Hawkins Hospital and later died.
