The following day, the California Highway Patrol identified the driver of the Chevrolet Tahoe, which crashed into an irrigation ditch, as 47-year-old Brian Boguhn.
The official cause of the crash is under investigation by the CHP, while a spokesman for the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department said the office is conducting an independent investigation into the official cause of death.
According to sheriff’s spokesman Les Garcia, investigators found a note and superficial lacerations on both of the victim’s arms.
“It appears it was an apparent suicide attempt,” Garcia said. “There is no evidence of foul play. It is not being investigated as a homicide.”
A close friend of the family on Friday strongly disputed the sheriff’s speculation about Boguhn’s final minutes.
The initial CHP crash report from officer Ed Epps, released on Friday, stated that Boguhn was driving north on Tracy Boulevard just south of Grimes Road at about 2 p.m. May 3 when his SUV went off the road. The vehicle rolled once and landed upside down in an irrigation ditch on the west side of the road.
Tracy firefighters arriving at the scene jumped into the water and used the Jaws of Life to cut Boguhn out of the wreckage. He was taken by ambulance to San Joaquin County Hospital in French Camp, CHP officers confirmed, where he died several hours later.
According to the report released Friday, alcohol was a contributing factor in the crash.
CHP spokesman Adam Shelton said Thursday that Epps’ determination was based on the discovery of empty and full bottles of beer scattered about the scene, which Epps believes came from the victim’s vehicle.
Garcia said it would be four to six weeks before an official toxicology report would be filed by the coroner’s office, but a family friend said that a blood panel taken at the hospital May 3 showed no signs of intoxication.
Friends of Boguhn said he is survived by a wife and five children, ranging in age from 2 to 13. He worked as an IT manager for Live OPS in Cupertino, according to his obituary.
• Editor's note: The Tracy Press does not typically report on suicides, but has followed this case because of the public nature of the crash and previous reporting on the crash.
Is it wrong to report the information as given by the Sheriffs dept? If a spokesperson for the dept gave out the info, that is considered a reliable source. Is it an invasion of privacy? No, not when it is an accident on a public road.
I am truly sorry for the family. If the dept gave out wrong information then maybe they have a case against the Sheriffs department. But I don't think so.
If it comes out to be true i hope this family is aware that by telling the story they can help others. Something good can come out of something bad. Suicide is never the answer. It leaves way too many casualties. Also when done in an automobile you can hurt innocent people on the road and/or people from emergency response teams.
We do need more mental health resources in our country. Things are tough for may people right now. I hope this family gets the help they will surely need.
No where in this article is the Tracy PD mentioned. Why should they be sued and why do you put shame on them for the information?
----------------
Suicide is usually not paid by Life Insurance policies to prevent people buying insurance then killing themself. Suicide is not considered accidental death -- by definition it is actually murder (of the self). While I am sure that are a number of "accidental deaths" that are actually suicides and life insurance gets paid (getting in a car wreck on purpose for instance) if the insurance company has any suspicions they are going to investigate heavily.
Glad the Tracy Press added that. We just noticed the additional paragraph.
But what is this about "public nature"?
To the Editor, why?
And if you really want to do a fundraiser, set up an account locally with a bank or church and don't encourage donations to a website that takes between 5% and 35% of every donation.
If you don't like our support, you can leave, but don't make stupid accusations.
jmendelson@tracypress.com, drizzo@tracypress.com
Ask them to respect this family and these young children, and to remove this article. That is what we can do to help this family.