A man with three prior DUI convictions was intoxicated when he crashed into a tree in Napa County, killing six passengers, according to prosecutors.
Norberto Celerino was charged Tuesday with six felony counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, the Napa County district attorney’s office said in a statement. Celerino is also facing a felony count of driving under the influence causing injury with two or more prior DUI convictions.
Prosecutors allege the 53-year-old driver was intoxicated when he crashed along Pope Valley Road with seven passengers in a van.
All of the eight people in the van were farmworkers, sheriff’s officials said.
Celerino and one passenger were taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for injuries. Six of the passengers died at the scene.
The Napa County Sheriff’s Office identified the deceased as Araon Ruiz Ruiz, 39; Beymar Reynosa Rodriguez, 32; Demetrio Celerino Francisco, 39; Pedro Lopez Gomez, 57; Loreto Ricardo Hernandez, 42; and Fernando Silverio, 34.
All six were identified as residents of the Stockton area and Mexican nationals, sheriff’s officials said.
According to prosecutors, Celerino had been previously convicted of DUI on Aug. 22, 2020, and Sept. 20, 2024, in San Joaquin County.
Celerino had been convicted of a third DUI, prosecutors said in the statement, but the conviction was more than 10 years ago.
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