Suspect Faces Trial In CHP Officer Death

A motorist accused of fatally striking a California Highway Patrol officer on the freeway after a night of drinking in Tijuana must stand trial on murder, drunken-driving and hit-and-run charges, a judge ruled Tuesday. Christopher Merrick Awaits Trial After a two-day preliminary hearing, Superior Court Judge Richard Cline ordered Christopher Merrick to stand trial in October. Merrick, 20, is also charged with vehicular manslaughter in the Oct. 28 death of CHP Officer Sean Nava (pictured, below) near Carlsbad. The defendant had moved to Orange County from Colorado 10 days earlier to attend computer school. Nava, a 12-year officer from North County, was standing next to the center divider on northbound Interstate 5 investigating an overturned truck accident when he was hit at about 6:10 a.m., authorities testified. Amanda Sue Neil Henriksen, 19, testified that someone was tailgating her in the fast lane as she headed back to Oceanside from her newspaper delivery route. She said that she saw a CHP officer on the left shoulder, and then realized that the vehicle behind her was moving to her left. "I looked away because I didn't want to see what was going to happen," she testified. She said she heard a crash, followed by another crash that sounded like something shattering. Merrick had a blood-alcohol level of .06 and .07 percent in separate tests two hours after the accident, authorities said. An expert estimated his blood-alcohol level to be between .08 and .11 percent at the time of the collision. The legal threshold for drunken driving is .O8 percent. Merrick, who is being held in lieu of a $2 million bond, faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted, Deputy District Attorney Paul Myers said. Previous Stories:

• April 9, 2001: Suspect In Court For CHP Officer Death
• April 9, 2001: DUI Suspect In Court For CHP Officer Death