On June 15, 2002, Brian Sabanal of Hayward was driving on Interstate 205 with a friend west of Tracy Boulevard when an unidentified driver made an unsafe lane change, sideswiping his truck.
The crash caused Sabanal’s pickup to swerve off the road, overturn several times, and toss him onto the ground. Sabanal, who wore no seat belt, was killed in the crash. His passenger survived.
Sabanal was a 20-year-old graduate of Logan High School on his way to a paintball tournament in Modesto at the time of the accident.
The unidentified driver and passenger briefly stopped after the crash, witnesses said, but fled before CHP arrived. Shortly after the crash, the case was closed because authorities were unable to identify the driver. Seven years later, the driver still hasn’t been found.
The suspect was in his 20s and about 6-foot-3 with spiked hair at the time. A woman in her 20s was with him.
“We look at it every year,” CHP officer Robert Rickman said. “It’s still an open case. We’ve had our section looking into it for the last couple years. We are out of leads and asking the public for what they may have seen, even the slightest details.”
Information about the case can be provided anonymously, and the CHP asks that the unidentified driver or passenger come forward.
“There is always a chance, always someone out there that knows something,” Rickman said. “We are hoping that person is out there. Minute details can break a case wide open.”
Rickman can be reached at 943-8600.
"Shortly after the crash, the case was closed because authorities were unable to identify the driver."
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"We look at it every year,” CHP officer Robert Rickman said. “It’s still an open case."