A 38-year-old San Jose man is in custody on a homicide charge after authorities say he led police on a high-speed chase from Santa Clara into San Jose, blew through a red light, and slammed into another vehicle, killing his own passenger and injuring two others.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office filed four felony counts against Justin Buban following the June 14 crash, which began shortly after midnight when Santa Clara police officers spotted a gold Buick driving recklessly on Stevens Creek Boulevard. Patch reported that officers observed the Buick speeding, running multiple red lights, driving on the center median, and traveling on the wrong side of the road before they attempted a traffic stop.
Buban allegedly refused to pull over. The pursuit continued onto Interstate 880 and into San Jose, where it ended in catastrophe at the intersection of Naglee and Park avenues.
A red light, a crash, and a death
The Buick ran a red light at Naglee and Park, struck another vehicle, then careened into a traffic pole. A passenger in Buban's car died at the scene. Authorities have not publicly identified the victim.
Buban was transported to a local hospital, where he remains in custody. Two occupants of the second vehicle suffered what police described as minor injuries and were also hospitalized.
The charges filed against Buban tell the story of a pursuit that left wreckage across two cities: homicide, evading a police officer causing serious injury or death, reckless driving, and driving under the influence causing bodily injury. The specific classification of the homicide charge, whether murder, manslaughter, or vehicular homicide, has not been disclosed.
Fatal crashes involving law enforcement encounters are not rare in California. A Florida nurse was recently charged with vehicular homicide after a crash that killed three Palm Beach County deputies, a case that drew national attention to the consequences drivers face when reckless conduct behind the wheel takes lives.
Two departments, one investigation
The San Jose Police Department's Traffic Investigations Unit is leading the crash investigation. Investigators from both San Jose and Santa Clara police departments worked with the Santa Clara County DA's Office to build the case against Buban.
Santa Clara Traffic Investigator Ernst is listed as a contact for the investigation. The department issued a news release detailing the sequence of events, though no officials offered direct public comment beyond the written account.
Several questions remain unanswered. Authorities have not said whether Buban has entered a plea. They have not disclosed whether a blood alcohol or toxicology test was administered, nor released results, though the DUI charge suggests investigators believe impairment played a role. The relationship between Buban and the deceased passenger is also unknown.
Equally unaddressed is whether the Santa Clara Police Department's pursuit policy was followed and whether the chase was formally authorized. Police pursuit protocols have come under increasing scrutiny in California, where high-speed chases through urban streets carry obvious risks to bystanders and officers alike. In San Francisco, a theft suspect recently died and two officers were injured when a car struck all three during a foot chase, a reminder that even pursuits that don't involve high-speed driving can turn deadly in seconds.
The cost of reckless driving
What is not in dispute is the trail of destruction Buban allegedly left behind. A person is dead. Two people in an uninvolved vehicle were hospitalized. A traffic pole was destroyed. And a man who authorities say was driving under the influence while tearing through red lights and veering onto the wrong side of the road now faces the most serious criminal consequences the justice system can impose short of a capital charge.
The four felony counts carry significant prison time if Buban is convicted. Evading a police officer causing serious injury or death alone is a serious felony under California law, and the homicide charge elevates the case well beyond a standard DUI prosecution.
Broader data underscores the dangers that officers and civilians face on American roads. An FBI report found that 53 officers were killed in the line of duty in 2025, with assaults on police reaching a decade high, a grim backdrop against which every pursuit decision is made.
Cases like this one also raise the uncomfortable question that police departments face every time a suspect refuses to stop: pursue and risk a crash, or back off and risk letting a dangerous driver roam free. On June 14, Santa Clara officers chose to pursue. The suspect's passenger paid with their life.
In Oklahoma, a state trooper was killed in a head-on crash on I-35 that also claimed a mother and child, another case where a split-second collision shattered multiple families at once.
Accountability matters
The DA's decision to file a homicide charge, not just vehicular manslaughter or a lesser offense, signals that prosecutors view Buban's alleged conduct as more than a tragic accident. Running red lights, driving on the wrong side of the road, fleeing police at high speed, and doing it all while allegedly impaired is not an accident. It is a series of choices.
Anyone with information about the crash can contact the San Jose Police Department's Traffic Investigations Unit at 408-277-4654 or Santa Clara Traffic Investigator Ernst at 408-615-4764. Anonymous tips can be submitted to the Santa Clara Police Department at 408-615-4847.
No court date has been announced. Buban remains hospitalized and in custody. The passenger's name has not been released. A Virginia deputy was recently killed during a routine welfare check, a reminder that danger on America's streets does not always announce itself, but in this case, authorities say the warning signs were flashing red, literally, and the suspect blew right through them.
When someone allegedly drives drunk, flees police, and kills a passenger in the process, the justice system owes the dead more than a slap on the wrist. The charges filed here suggest prosecutors understand that.
