Pinole Man Charged With Murder in Fatal Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Crash

“We’re not minimizing the loss in this case. This is a tragedy, not a murder.” Defense attorney Michael Cardoza offered those words as he challenged the severity of the charges against his client. Prosecutors in Contra Costa County have charged Pedro Abril-Garcia, a 41-year-old Pinole man, with second-degree murder, alleging that he was drunk when he drove the wrong way onto the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and collided with another motorist, the Press Democrat reported.

Police say that at around 1:40 a.m. on Aug. 12, 2025, Abril-Garcia got onto the bridge heading west in the eastbound lanes. He drove his Range Rover straight into a Honda Civic. The Honda’s driver, 29-year-old Alejandro Cruz Renderos of Petaluma, was killed in the collision.

Abril-Garcia was hospitalized with severe injuries. His lawyer said he still has trouble walking. Court records show that Abril-Garcia has prior drunk driving convictions from 2009 and 2010 in Alameda County.

He is in jail facing the second-degree murder charge. He was held to answer at his September preliminary hearing and pleaded not guilty on Oct. 13, records show.

Pinole Man Charged With Murder in Fatal Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Crash — Photo: marinij.com

Cardoza said he and prosecutors are negotiating a resolution. He said the big question was how much his client will be punished but that he viewed a murder charge as “rather draconian.”

An online fundraiser to support Abril-Garcia after the crash raised more than $4,000.

The case now moves toward a negotiated resolution or trial, with the murder charge standing after his earlier drunk driving convictions in Alameda County.

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