The parents of two Hamilton City young boys were killed Sunday in a head-on collision with a Corning man police said was drunk and transporting drugs for sales, the California Highway Patrol reported.
Initially the CHP reported that a 7-year-old boy was also killed in the crash, but later retracted, saying the boy was still alive and calling the bad information a mistake based on "conflicting reports," Officer Justin Maxey of the Chico-area CHP said.
The boy, Cristian Zairzar, and his brother, Emmanuel Zaizar-Alverez, 6, were both listed in critical condition Monday afternoon, Maxey said.
The boys' parents were killed on Highway 99 north of Chico.
The parents have been identified as Rogelio Herrera, 29, and Saray Alvarez, 31, according to the Butte County Coroner's Office.
Robert E. Barnes, 25, of Corning, was booked into the Butte County Jail on suspicion of two counts of second-degree murder, driving under the influence of alcohol and transporting marijuana for sale, the CHP said.
"Getting drunk and getting behind the wheel can cause a lot of carnage," Maxey said.
Police reportedly found 28 pounds of marijuana in the vehicle, the CHP said.
Barnes' passengers, Richard Carstensen, 26, of Corning, and Michael Rasmussen, 29, of Chico, were not arrested, but investigators have not ruled out the possiblity of charging them with transporting marijuana for sale, Maxey said.
The marijuana investigation has already been turned over to the Butte County Interagency Narcotics Task Force, Maxey said.
Barnes was driving a 2004 Dodge 2500 traveling north from Broyles Road on Highway 99. The Hamilton City family was traveling south on Highway 99 in a 1995 GMC Sonoma just before 6 p.m.
Witnesses told investigators the vehicle had been driving erratically, "making bad passes, tailgating and speeding," just prior to the crash, the CHP reported.
The vehicles collided head-on, forcing the GMC backward, and slamming against the guardrail on the east shoulder. The Dodge rolled over in the northbound lane, the CHP reported.
Barnes was arrested after an examination at Enloe Medical Center in Chico, the CHP said.
Several hours later, a Caltrans worker was killed in a separate, but related crash that also resulted in the arrest of another Corning man, Russell N. Hodge, 45, on suspicion of second-degree murder and drunken driving, the CHP said.
The road worker has been identified as 57-year-old Gary Smith of Chico.
The results of blood samples taken from both drivers were not available Monday, Maxey said.
The road worker was setting up road closure signs for the first crash when he was struck by a 2004 Ford F-250 at an undetermined rate of speed and died at the scene, the CHP said.
Highway 99 was reportedly reopened at 6 a.m.
Initially the CHP reported that a 7-year-old boy was also killed in the crash, but later retracted, saying the boy was still alive and calling the bad information a mistake based on "conflicting reports," Officer Justin Maxey of the Chico-area CHP said.
The boy, Cristian Zairzar, and his brother, Emmanuel Zaizar-Alverez, 6, were both listed in critical condition Monday afternoon, Maxey said.
The boys' parents were killed on Highway 99 north of Chico.
The parents have been identified as Rogelio Herrera, 29, and Saray Alvarez, 31, according to the Butte County Coroner's Office.
Robert E. Barnes, 25, of Corning, was booked into the Butte County Jail on suspicion of two counts of second-degree murder, driving under the influence of alcohol and transporting marijuana for sale, the CHP said.
"Getting drunk and getting behind the wheel can cause a lot of carnage," Maxey said.
Police reportedly found 28 pounds of marijuana in the vehicle, the CHP said.
Barnes' passengers, Richard Carstensen, 26, of Corning, and Michael Rasmussen, 29, of Chico, were not arrested, but investigators have not ruled out the possiblity of charging them with transporting marijuana for sale, Maxey said.
The marijuana investigation has already been turned over to the Butte County Interagency Narcotics Task Force, Maxey said.
Barnes was driving a 2004 Dodge 2500 traveling north from Broyles Road on Highway 99. The Hamilton City family was traveling south on Highway 99 in a 1995 GMC Sonoma just before 6 p.m.
Witnesses told investigators the vehicle had been driving erratically, "making bad passes, tailgating and speeding," just prior to the crash, the CHP reported.
The vehicles collided head-on, forcing the GMC backward, and slamming against the guardrail on the east shoulder. The Dodge rolled over in the northbound lane, the CHP reported.
Barnes was arrested after an examination at Enloe Medical Center in Chico, the CHP said.
Several hours later, a Caltrans worker was killed in a separate, but related crash that also resulted in the arrest of another Corning man, Russell N. Hodge, 45, on suspicion of second-degree murder and drunken driving, the CHP said.
The road worker has been identified as 57-year-old Gary Smith of Chico.
The results of blood samples taken from both drivers were not available Monday, Maxey said.
The road worker was setting up road closure signs for the first crash when he was struck by a 2004 Ford F-250 at an undetermined rate of speed and died at the scene, the CHP said.
Highway 99 was reportedly reopened at 6 a.m.