An 81-year-old man has been charged with vehicular manslaughter for a crash near the Santa Maria Airport in May.
Tiffany Ann Peterson, 39, of Orcutt was killed when the pickup truck she was riding in collided with a forklift.
It happened just after 3 p.m. on May 2, along Skyway Drive near Hangar Street. According to police, the pickup also crashed into a fire hydrant after colliding with the forklift.
The forklift operator, identified as Davis Ernest Baskett, is charged with a single count of vehicular manslaughter and is expected to be arraigned on September 4.
Peterson's father, Charles Peterson, was driving the pickup and reportedly suffered moderate injuries in the crash.
Baskett is a member of the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Board of Education. Kenny Klein, the school district's public information officer, says Baskett was "not acting in any official district capacity when the tragic accident occurred."
