Prosecutors in Santa Clara County charged a 38-year-old driver with murder on Tuesday, November 10, in the Cupertino crash that killed a two-year-old girl last week — a major new development in a case Awaaz Punjab first reported on November 6, when the driver was arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter after the fiery noon collision at North Tantau Avenue and Pruneridge Avenue, beside Apple Park. Eric Chen Su now faces two felony counts, murder and assault with a deadly weapon, after appearing in a Palo Alto courtroom on Tuesday.
Source: KION Central Coast / CBS News Bay Area, Nov 10, 2026
The complaint also alleges, as sentencing enhancements, that Su personally inflicted great bodily injury during the assault and that the child was a particularly vulnerable victim, according to the court reporting. Su did not enter a plea on Tuesday, and his next court hearing is scheduled for November 30, 2026.
Source: ABC7 News Bay Area reporting, via ArchyNewsy, Nov 11, 2026
What happened on November 6
The crash happened shortly after noon on Friday, November 6, at the intersection of North Tantau and Pruneridge avenues, just north of Apple Park Way, the main thoroughfare of Apple Inc.'s headquarters in Cupertino. A Chevrolet Trax carrying a woman and the two-year-old was stopped at a red light when a Toyota Camry travelling northbound on Tantau rear-ended it, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said. The child, who was properly restrained in a child safety seat, and the woman were taken to hospital with serious injuries; the child died of her injuries, and the woman survived with head and spinal injuries, according to a deputy's report. The Camry driver suffered minor injuries. In line with Awaaz Punjab's minor-safety rule, the child is not named here — she is identified only by her age and home city, San Jose, in official reporting.
Investigators determined the Camry had been travelling at speeds over 90 mph when it struck the stopped Trax, the deputy's statement of facts said. The statement indicated the driver did not apply his brakes before the collision, and the evidence showed the speedometer was stuck at 100 mph after the crash. The District Attorney's Office said Su was driving four times the posted 30 mph speed limit.
"Unquestionably, murder was the appropriate charge," Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Rob Baker said, defending the decision to charge murder rather than leave the case at the gross vehicular manslaughter suspicion on which Su was first arrested. The charges are allegations; Su has not been convicted and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Why prosecutors say the driver should have known the risk
Court documents identify Su as an Apple employee who worked at the Cupertino site. The deputy's statement of facts indicated he reasonably would have known that Tantau Avenue at noon on a weekday is busy with vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic, and said Su drove northbound on Tantau "at a reckless, excessive speed that a reasonable person would know is careless, reckless, and without due regard for the safety of others." That reasoning — an allegedly extreme speed, on a familiar and busy street, with no braking — is the foundation prosecutors are using for a murder charge in a driving case, a step well beyond a routine fatal-crash prosecution.
There were no signs of drug or alcohol impairment, according to the deputy's report, which also said family statements indicated a history of mental health concerns. A memorial was held on Saturday, November 7, at the crash site, where neighbours and members of the local community gathered a day after the collision.
The place, and why it resonates locally
Tantau and Pruneridge is not a remote highway — it is a surface-street corner at the edge of Apple Park and its Visitor Center, in one of the most heavily travelled parts of Cupertino at lunchtime, surrounded by offices, homes and schools. Cupertino and the wider Silicon Valley are home to a large Punjabi and South Asian community, many of whose members drive these streets daily for work, school runs and childcare — the same ordinary midday trip the woman and child in the Trax were making when their stopped car was hit from behind.
What happens next
Su's next hearing is set for November 30 in Palo Alto, when he is expected to enter a plea. The Sheriff's Office investigation continues, and anyone who witnessed the crash or has information was encouraged to contact the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office at 408-868-6637. If the case proceeds, prosecutors will have to prove the murder and assault counts, and the enhancements, beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.