A teenager is charged with manslaughter in Butte County after crashing a stolen pickup truck while the owner was in the back. Last Monday afternoon 50-year-old Robert Etta called 9-1-1 and said he was riding in the bed of his own pickup. He had jumped in as the truck was being stolen in Magalia. Etta told the dispatcher the thief was “driving like a maniac”, skidding around corners and swerving at high speeds. The dispatcher then heard a crash. Deputies found the overturned pickup on fire off Carnegie Road. Etta was lying nearby unresponsive and was pronounced dead at the scene. The 16-year-old driver was hospitalized with a broken leg, and was arraigned on Friday for manslaughter.
-Steve Gibson