The Australian race car driver charged with vehicular manslaughter for a fatal crash on state Highway 84 in San Mateo County made bail and was released from county jail on Tuesday, Sept. 12.
Luke Nardini, 31, faces two misdemeanor manslaughter charges for the head-on collision on Sept. 1 on Highway 84 in La Honda, east of Peek-A-Boo Lane. He was being held in jail with bail set at $20,000.
At a hearing in Redwood City Misdemeanor Court on Monday, Sept. 11, Commissioner Sarah P. Burdick granted two conditions on Nardini's bail requested by the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office: He will have to surrender his passport and he must remain in San Mateo County, but will be allowed to travel to the office of his attorney, John Noonan, in the East Bay city of Dublin.
Nardini was released from jail on Sept. 12, according to Christine Kuchac-Noonan, a legal analyst in Noonan's office. She said she could not comment further on Nardini's case at this time.
The California Highway Patrol said a Ford Taurus was traveling west on a blind curve on the two-lane highway when it collided with an eastbound BMW driven by Nardini, killing the two backseat passengers in the Taurus, 80-year-old La Honda residents Jack Davis and Linda Davis.
According to prosecutors, Nardini, who had been visiting California, was traveling at about 55-60 mph in the wrong lane because he is accustomed to driving on the left side of the road in Australia. Spotting the oncoming BMW about 10 feet away, the Taurus driver tried to evade the crash but was struck head-on.
The driver and front-seat passenger in the Taurus were taken to a hospital, and Nardini was treated for a back injury.
Nardini is a Formula 500 race car driver from the West Australia town of Narrogin, according to The Guardian and multiple Australian media reports. His mother Cheryle Nardini said in a Facebook post that the family and Luke are "devastated" that two people died.
She and son Jamie visited Luke in jail last Wednesday, Sept. 6, and he "expressed again how sorry he is about what has happened and the pain he has caused," her post said. A fundraiser to support the family's travel and lodging costs had raised over 26,000 Australian dollars of its AU$30,000 goal as of Wednesday, Sept. 13.
According to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office, Nardini was driving east on the highway when there was a closure of the eastbound lane so he moved into the westbound lane and apparently forgot to move back to the right side of the road.
There is more than one area of Highway 84 that has been impacted by lane closures recently, as well as some local debate over that detail in the official account of the accident. Lorrain Rucker, a local resident who drives through the area every day, told this news organization that the closed lane is on the westbound side of the highway, not the eastbound side, as was reported by the District Attorney's office.
A pre-trial hearing is set for Oct. 11 and the trial is set to start on Nov. 17, prosecutors said.
Bay City News Service contributed to this report.
Comments
Registered user
another community
on Sep 14, 2023 at 10:13 am
Registered user
on Sep 14, 2023 at 10:13 am
Outrageous! He’s a professional race car driver .....he was on the correct side for miles before the accident.....
Being Australian is not a defense it’s an excuse for racing snd killing two beloved community members.
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Sep 14, 2023 at 11:36 am
Registered user
on Sep 14, 2023 at 11:36 am
He is out of jail? Is he allowed to continue driving here? This sounds like deliberate reckless endangerment and manslaughter.
My deepest sympathies to the friends and family of the victims of this driver's reprehensible behavior. May your loved one's memory be a blessing.
Public streets are not raceways. Driving on public streets is a privilege that is offered with the expectation of legal, safe and responsible behavior.
Registered user
College Terrace
on Sep 14, 2023 at 12:06 pm
Registered user
on Sep 14, 2023 at 12:06 pm
The two comments above are harsh and judgemental without really understanding all the facts. Both families are grieving over this tragic accident.
Registered user
Old Palo Alto
on Sep 14, 2023 at 1:27 pm
Registered user
on Sep 14, 2023 at 1:27 pm
I am afraid that @LightningMan is displaying poor judgment. If he is aware of additional facts beyond the report, then provide them. I think outrage at the reckless driving that killed two and the perp's release from jail on an insignificant bond is entirely justified.
I also think the article is too sympathetic to "the family" of the perp, while barely discussing the victims.
Finally, while this is indeed a tragedy, it is NOT an accident. The perp was reckless, as evidenced by speeding on an unfamiliar road and failure to drive in the proper lane -- undoubtedly due to lack of familiarity with the road and driving too fast to pay attention to signs.
Registered user
another community
on Sep 14, 2023 at 9:02 pm
Registered user
on Sep 14, 2023 at 9:02 pm
Luke Nardini’s reckless indifference to the health and safety of others is both depraved and psychopathic. Nardini was SPEEDING.
Nardini should serve decades in prison for the murders of Jack and Linda Davis and then he should be deported and permanently barred from the U.S.
When you speed, you have a reasonable expectation that you will harm someone. To that end, speeding is no less deadly to others than if you wave a loaded gun in their presence.
$20K bail for the murders of two people? Unbelievable.
You are a disgrace to your respective professions, Sarah Burdock and SMC DA Wagstaffe.
You have lost my vote in 2024, Burdick.
You should retire ASAP, Wagstaffe.
Rest in peace, Jack and Linda Davis. You deserve(d) better.
Full disclosure: I have no ties to the participants of this crime.
Registered user
another community
on Sep 14, 2023 at 9:18 pm
Registered user
on Sep 14, 2023 at 9:18 pm
P.S. Nardini's bail should be revoked immediately and he should be remanded until and during his trial. This isn't manslaughter. This is double MURDER.