SLO driver who hit and killed couple charged with manslaughter

February 27, 2023

By KAREN VELIE

The 24-year-old San Luis Obispo resident who allegedly hit and killed a couple and their dog while speeding on Sacramento Drive was charged with two counts of felony vehicular manslaughter on Monday.

San Luis Obispo police officers arrested Daniel Angel Saligan Patricio on Monday and booked him in the SLO County Jail. He is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail.

On the evening of Nov. 21, 2022, officers responded to a report that a car struck a curb, a street sign and the abutment of a bridge. Officers, who did not suspect the driver of alcohol impairment, had the car towed and wrote out a traffic collision report.

A day later, on the evening of Nov. 22, a caller reported a dead dog in a creek bed off the 3400 block of Sacramento Drive. The dog was transported to animal control.

Five hours later, relatives of Matthew Chachere, 39, and Jennifer Besser, 36, reported the couple had not arrived at their expected destination in Modesto. Relatives provided police with photos of the couple as well as a picture of their dog.

After viewing the photo of the missing dog, a police dispatcher was able to make the connection between the earlier report of the deceased dog with the dog owned by the missing residents.

Police returned to the heavily wooded creek bed and conducted another search. Officers then discovered the deceased bodies of Chachere and Besser, which were lying in heavy brush.

Although Patricio was speeding, there appears to be questions about whether he knew he hit the couple.

He is charged with “killing human beings” while driving a vehicle “in the commission of an unlawful act,” and “with gross negligence,” according to court records.