Man charged with murder after Sunnyvale wrong-way fatal crash

(KRON) -- Prosecutors charged a San Jose man with murder after he allegedly drove drunk the wrong way down a Sunnyvale street and killed a 52-year-old Mountain View woman who was on her way home from work. Brian Burke, 34, was driving a Ford F-150 pickup truck into oncoming traffic when he crashed head-on into a Jeep Compass on the night of April 9, according to prosecutors. The Jeep driver was attempting to drive home from her job at a Denny's restaurant. Sunnyvale police officers responded to the crash scene, located in the intersection of Central Expressway and Commercial Street. "Officers located the suspect seated in the driver seat of a pickup truck with major front-end damage. Officers also located the victim, seated in the driver seat of a black Jeep Compass with major front-end damage," the District Attorney's Office wrote. The victim was extricated and pronounced deceased at the collision scene. Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety investigators said the suspected DUI driver refused to provide a statement or provide a blood sample. Officers obtained a search warrant and a blood sample was collected. Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said, "More than 10,000 people die in drunk driving incidents every year in this country. Not one of them was what I would ever call an accident. Every single one was an avoidable criminal tragedy, and in this case – a murder." Burke was arraigned on April 13, and he is being held in jail without bail. His next court date is slated for June 2 at the Palo Alto courthouse.