A Salinas vice principal charged with DUI; Monterey County District Attorney’s Office

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) -- The Monterey County DA's office announced Tuesday that a 34-year-old man named Manuel Benjamin Basaldua of Gonzales was arrested and charged with felony DUI for an incident that took place in 2024.

They said that Basaldua, a vice principal at an elementary school in Salinas, was charged with felony driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury with an alleged blood alcohol content greater than .15.

According to the DA's office, Basaldua was charged with "personally inflicting great bodily injury causing the victim to become comatose due to brain injury or to suffer paralysis."

The DA's office said that Basaldua was not engaged in school activities at the time of this crash.

The case was investigated by the California Highway Patrol and the Monterey County District
Attorney’s Office Driving Under the Influence Vertical Prosecution Unit, according to the DA's office.

KION reached out to the Salinas City Elementary School District, and the district confirmed the spelling of Basaldua's name but declined to comment further.