Manslaughter, DUI charges filed in Oates case

The 20-year-old Huntington Beach man whose truck crashed into and killed middle school student Danny Oates last August has been charged with two felonies, authorities said.

The Orange County district attorney filed charges of vehicular manslaughter and felony driving under the influence against Jeffrey Francis Woods on April 30. Woods is accused of driving with gross negligence while under the influence of alcohol and drugs, authorities said.

On Aug. 29 last year, 14-year-old student Oates was biking on Indianapolis Avenue to Sowers Middle School to pick up his class schedule when Woods’ pickup truck suddenly swerved across the road, hit Oates, and crashed through a concrete wall, police said. Oates was killed instantly.

Preliminary tests showed Woods was possibly under the influence of opiates at the time of the crash, according to an affidavit Huntington Beach police filed in January to obtain a search warrant. The affidavit also stated that Woods’ cell phone contained text messages trying to score drugs in the days before the crash.

Woods was not put under arrest, but sent notice to appear in court June 6. He is scheduled for an arraignment then and will have the opportunity to make a plea.