Alexander Yohn, 23, of Emeryville, was charged with murder, vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run.
Alexander Yohn, 23, of Emeryville, was charged with murder, vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run.
FREMONT -- Prosecutors on Thursday charged an Emeryville man with murder, gross vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run in connection with a fatal motorcycle crash that claimed the life of a U.S. Marine.
Alexander Yohn, 23, was initially arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and resisting arrest after the Tuesday morning accident.
He was scheduled to appear Thursday afternoon at the Fremont Hall of Justice to be arraigned on the new charges, said Fremont police spokeswoman Geneva Bosques. Additional charges could be filed pending the results of his toxicology report, police said.
Online jail records list Yohn's occupation as an EMT.
Police say Yohn slammed a Mini Cooper into a motorcycle driven by Lance Cpl. Andrew Silva, 23, a Union City resident who had just returned from duty overseas. Silva was married with a2-year-old son, according to a family friend.
About 1:10 a.m. Tuesday, an employee at a Taco Bell on Fremont Boulevard called police to report a drive-thru customer who appeared to be belligerent and under the influence, Bosques said. A description of the customer's vehicle -- a light blue Mini Cooper -- was sent to police.
One officer driving south on Fremont Boulevard saw the car driving at a high speed in the opposite direction, Bosques said.
The officer made a U-turn and initiated a traffic stop, but the driver failed to yield and continued traveling north on Fremont Boulevard, she said.
The Mini Cooper then struck a motorcycle on the road, slammed into a utility pole and fence and burst into flames at Fremont Boulevard and Decoto Road, police said.
Officers said Silva was thrown from the bike, which ended up in the parking lot of the Fremont Bank. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
South San Francisco resident Luis Masis, a longtime friend of the Silva family, said his son served in the Marine Corps with Silva and that he'd just returned from Afghanistan in February.
Yohn attempted to run to a nearby field, but he was caught by officers, Bosques said. After his arrest, police said, Yohn admitted to being a heroin addict and an alcoholic.
Yohn remained in jail Thursday on $150,000 bond.
Contact Natalie Neysa Alund at 510-293-2469. Follow her at Twitter.com/nataliealund.