The 53-year-old Stockton man who was driving a minivan and was allegedly intoxicated when he crashed into a tree and killed six of his passengers apparently had three prior DUI convictions, and also did not have a valid driver’s license.
We’re learning more about Sunday’s alleged DUI crash in Napa that killed six people when the driver ran off the road and crashed into a tree on Pope Valley Road. Specifically, KTVU is now reporting that the 53-year-old driver, Norberto Celerino of Stockton, had three previous DUI convictions, and also did not have a valid driver’s license, and for whatever reason, also had three different aliases.
Celerino had a previous DUI conviction in San Joaquin County in 2020, and then a second in the same county as recently as 2024. The third DUI conviction does not have date or location information attached to it, because the conviction is more than ten years old.
Authorities in Napa County announced Monday that they had arrested Celerino on suspicion of murder, which suggested that this would be a case of what's known as "Watson murder" in California — a second-degree murder charge for a DUI death when a suspect has prior DUI convictions.
There were eight men in the minivan, including Celerino, and KTVU confirms they were all farm workers. Two have been identified as 42-year-old Loreto Ricardo Hernandez and 34-year-old Fernando Silverio.
The other six victims have not yet been identified, as police are still notifying next of kin. KTVU reports that the Napa County Sheriff's Office says that all eight men in the vehicle were likely from the Stockton area. The one other survivor of the crash remains hospitalized.
On Tuesday, Celerino was formally charged with six counts of murder, six counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and DUI.
Image: Napa Superior Court via Facebook
