OAKLAND — A year after filing them, Alameda County prosecutors have thrown out vehicular manslaughter charges against a man who was once suspected of being the driver in a 2024 fatal crash.
Bryan Castaneda-Rodriguez, 22, had been charged with killing Askari Carr by crashing a stolen Honda Fit in Oakland on July 24, 2024. The Honda crashed on 38th Avenue in Oakland when it struck another stolen vehicle, police said.
Castaneda-Rodriguez was charged under the theory that he was driving the Honda, but last Feb. 3, prosecutors came to court and said they’ve lost faith in their case. The minute order says it was dismissed due to “insufficient evidence.”
At the time, police said that Castaneda-Rodriguez was identified from a DNA test showing he left biological matter on the steering wheel and airbags. There was also surveillance footage showing him and another crash survivor fleeing the car, but the video didn’t show where the men were sitting or which pathways they took, authorities said.
Ultimately, prosecutors felt they couldn’t prove either man was driving the Honda, according to court records.
Two days after the case was dismissed, Castaneda-Rodriguez came to court and pleaded no contest to gun possession in an unrelated case that occurred before the fatal crash. He was sentenced to two years of felony probation for having a pistol equipped with an auto sear switch, according to court records.