Driver pleads guilty to manslaughter in Oregon crash that killed 3 Costa Mesa residents
The driver of a car involved in a head-on collision in Oregon that killed three Costa Mesa residents last year has pleaded guilty to three counts of manslaughter, two counts of assault and one count of driving while intoxicated, according to prosecutors.
Joshua Gibson, 28, also of Costa Mesa, entered the plea May 20 in an Oregon courthouse as part of a negotiated agreement with prosecutors, said Josephine County District Attorney Ryan Mulkins.
Gibson is scheduled to be sentenced July 14. Mulkins declined to disclose the expected sentence included in the plea agreement.
A misdemeanor charge of reckless driving was dropped as part of the deal, Mulkins said.
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The charges stemmed from the evening of Sept. 10. Gibson was driving a Buick north on Highway 199 just south of Kerby, Ore., when he tried to illegally pass a car ahead of him and smashed head-on into a pickup, according to Oregon State Police.
The crash killed three passengers in the Buick: Claire Honsaker, 25, Steve Stinson, 28, and Christoffer Burke, 27, all of Costa Mesa.
Gibson and a fourth passenger in the car, Kean Krause, 21, of Costa Mesa, were hurt. The pickup’s driver suffered minor injuries, police said.
In November, Costa Mesa police arrested Gibson at the request of Oregon officials, who had issued a manslaughter warrant for him.
Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck
