PREVIOUSLY:

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Humboldt County District Attorney Stacey Eads on Friday told the Outpost that her office will not file criminal charges against the man who was driving on Centerville Road in December when one of two unrestrained children on the truck’s flatbed tumbled off, suffering fatal head injuries.

“[W]e are not filing charges based upon a determination that there is insufficient evidence,” Eads said via email. 

The tragic incident took place on the morning of Dec. 29 on Centerville Road, east of Ferndale. According to a press release from the California Highway Patrol, a 56-year-old Ferndale man, whose identity has never been released publicly, was driving a 2024 Ford pickup with two young boys, ages 5 and 3, on the flatbed. 

As the man made a left turn onto a private road, the 3-year-old was “ejected” from the flatbed and suffered major head trauma in the subsequent fall, according to the CHP. 

“The driver immediately notified emergency personnel and self-transported the injured juvenile to Redwood Memorial Hospital in Fortuna,” the agency said in a press release. “Unfortunately, the juvenile succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased by medical personnel at the hospital.”

It took the local CHP office nearly three months to submit an incident report to Eads’ office in late March. According to Eads, the reported listed two crimes for filing consideration:

In late April, Eads told the Outpost that her office had requested follow-up information after completing its initial review. Once that information was obtained, it was handed over to the deputy DA in charge of the case.

In an email this afternoon, Eads said her office’s specific analysis is an attorney work product, so she’s limited to discussing the circumstances of this case in general terms. 

“In assessing provability of crimes, we review admissible evidence and [consider] whether all elements of the crimes can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt … ,” the DA said. “In evaluating the provability of crimes such as the two referred in this matter, the presence, or absence, of historical negligent or abusive behavior could be highly relevant in making a determination.”

Before a charging decision is reached, her office conducts a records search and has internal discussions with subject matter experts about the state of the evidence, reasonable interpretations and applicable law, Eads said. 

Cases that involve child abuse must meet specific evidentiary burdens.

“Absent a direct, purposeful infliction of unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering upon a child, the law generally demands proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the person was criminally negligent when they caused or permitted the child to suffer, be injured or endangered,” Eads explained. “Proving criminal negligence under the law requires proof beyond that the person had a lapse in judgment, made a mistake [or] acted with ordinary carelessness or inattention. Additionally, under certain circumstances the evidence must prove probability of great bodily harm or death is high.”

The other potential charge — misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter — also requires proof of multiple elements and consideration of “all circumstances surrounding commission of the alleged offense,” Eads said. “Under the law and unique set of circumstances, the referred crimes are not provable beyond a reasonable doubt.”