Driver in Fatal Crash Cleared of Driving Under the Influence

A driver involved in a crash that killed five and injured a Santee woman and numerous others has been cleared of driving under the influence, and the search continues for the driver who authorities say triggered Saturday's fatal crash on Route 98 in Ocotillo.

California Highway Patrol officials say blood-alcohol tests came back negative for Carlos Ramirez Bobadill, of Mexicali, Mexico, who was arrested after the crash on suspicious of driving while intoxicated. Officials said from the outset that Bobadill did not cause the wreck that resulted in the death of his girlfriend, a passenger in his car, and four members of the Saddle Tramps motorcycle club.

Authorities Monday identified the dead as Ana Gonzalez, 31, Bobadill's girlfriend, also from Mexicali; Lance Heath, 43, and his wife, Amy, 36, of Alpine; Bill Miller, 57, of Ramona; and Tonya Trayer, 37, of Lakeside. All died at the scene.

Five other members of the motorcycle club, which was celebrating its 10th anniversary with a ride through the desert, were injured in the crash and are being treated for major injuries at UCSD Medical Center. NBC San Diego television identified them as Wilson Trayer, 39, Lakeside; Kelly Halley, 42, Santee; William Barnes, 57, San Diego; and Melanie Barnes, 46, also from San Diego; and John Lombardo, 55, Lakeside, who was taken to the El Centro Regional Medical Center.

Bobadill is recovering from a fractured foot and hand and lacerations in a San Diego hospital.

The CHP is seeking the driver of a gold-colored Honda Accord who triggered the 1
p.m. Saturday crash by trying to pass a pack of 12 motorcycles on the two-lane road and swerved into the westbound lane, forcing Bobadill's westbound Dodge Avenger to swerve onto the shoulder of the road and hit the motorcyclists, according to the CHP office in El Centro.

The Honda avoided a collision and kept going east towards Calexico, according to the CHP.

City News Service contributed to this report.