A Riverbank man has been arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter related to a crash that killed a 16-year-old Modesto girl and seriously injured others.
The collision occurred last year but the driver, 21-year-old Daniel Madsen, was not arrested until Tuesday night when he was contacted by Stanislaus County sheriff’s deputies near the Riverbank Crossroads shopping center.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Luke Schwartz said deputies stopped Madsen for riding his bicycle without lights and found that he had a warrant for his arrest for misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.
The crash occurred at the top of the Grapevine on northbound Interstate 5 around 12:45 a.m. May 21, 2021.
Madsen, then 19, was driving a Chevrolet Avalanche with four passengers from Modesto and one from Oakdale, said California Highway Patrol Officer Josh Greengard.
Madsen abruptly turned his vehicle to the right; it traveled off the road and overturned down an embankment before hitting a barbed wire fence.
The middle front passenger, 16-year-old Emma Rose Sanders of Modesto, was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene, Greengard said.
Madsen and three other passengers, girls between the ages 14 and 19, suffered severe injuries. A fifth teenage girl suffered moderate injuries.
Greengard said the investigation revealed that the crash was a result of fatigue; Madsen told investigators he believed he fell asleep at the wheel. Toxicology results showed no indication of drug or alcohol use.
Following his arrest in Riverbank Tuesday, Madsen was booked into Stanislaus County jail with a bail of $100,000. On Thursday, arrangements were made to have him transported to Los Angeles County for prosecution.
This story was originally published September 15, 2022 2:31 PM.
