Truck driver's record reveals third fatality

More distressing news concerning Gabriel Manzur Vera, the big rig driver who allegedly collided with and killed cyclist Lauren Perdriau Ward earlier this month. In addition to the other cyclist who was killed by Vera's truck in 2007, it has come to light that Vera was involved in another traffic death, this time the driver of a car, in 2003. From the Mercury News:

According to California Highway Patrol records, Vera's first fatal collision occurred Dec. 31, 2003, on Highway 1 in Monterey County. Vera, of Salinas, was driving through Moss Landing when another vehicle driven by Annette McDaniel, 53, reportedly crossed into opposite lanes and struck his truck head-on.

Vera acknowledged that crash in a deposition he gave last year as a defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit. He and the demolition company that has employed him for nearly 20 years, Randazzo Enterprises, were sued after a 2007 collision in Santa Cruz that killed bicyclist John Myslin.

Vera was found not at fault in the first two incidents, but authorities are still investigating the November 4 collision with Ward. Anyone with information is urged to call 650-369-6261.