Driver In Fatal Wrong-Way Peninsula Crash Distracted By Puppy: DA

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — The box truck driver involved a wrong-way coastal Peninsula crash that killed a 55-year-old bicyclist last week was exhausted and distracted by a pet in his vehicle at the time of the collision, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office said.

Vincent David Qualls, 43 of Oakland, was arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter in connection with the Sept. 28 Moss Beach crash that killed Harald Herrmann of Moss Beach, the DA’s Office said.

Qualls had just started a new job and was working double shifts in the days leading up to the crash and was on two hours sleep on the day of the crash, the DA’s Office said.

Officers determined Qualls wasn’t intoxicated but was “very tired,” the DA’s Office said.

Qualls told authorities he lost control of the truck when he tried to grab a puppy that fell off his lap, the DA’s Office said.

Officers at around 11:30 a.m. Sept. 28 responded to a report of a crash in Moss Beach on Highway 1 northbound near Cypress Avenue, the California Highway Patrol said.

Qualls was driving a Hino box truck traveling southbound that veered into the northbound lane, fatally striking the bicyclist who was riding on the shoulder of the northbound lane, the CHP said.

The box truck came to rest after striking a tree, the CHP said.

The bicyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the CHP.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Officer D. LaRock at (650) 779-2700.