A West Australian man is behind US bars facing a vehicular manslaughter charge after he allegedly drove on the wrong side of the road and killed two people in a head-on car crash.
WA speedway racer Luke Nardini — from a well-known Narrogin family — was taken to hospital after the collision on Friday evening near San Francisco, in which a man and woman in their 60s died.
The Mercury News reported Nardini’s white BMW M4 was travelling in the wrong direction on Highway 84 in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains when it smashed into a Ford Taurus on a tight, blind turn.
It is reported Mr Nardini was traveling east in the westbound lane of the highway at the time of the fatal incident.
California Highway Patrol officer David LaRock told the newspaper Mr Nardini had not been in the US long and was not familiar with the winding, two-lane road.
He said Mr Nardini may have thought he was driving on the correct side of the road.
A man sitting in the back seat of the Taurus died at the scene and a woman, who was also in the back seat, was later declared dead at a hospital.
Three other passengers in the Taurus were also hospitalised.
Drugs and alcohol are not suspected to have caused the crash.
The West Australian understands Mr Nardini is currently inside Maguire Correctional Facility, in Redwood City, California.
The jail, which is operated by San Mateo County’s Sherrif’s Office, typically houses inmates charged with felony and misdemeanor crimes.
Mr Nardini’s mother, Cheryle Nardini said her son appeared in court on Tuesday and a bail application hearing had been scheduled for later in the month.
“(It) was so good to be able to see him,” Ms Nardini, who has travelled to the US, wrote on Facebook.
“We have a long way to go.”
“We can feel your love all around us and it is helping to keep us strong.”
Mr Nardini and his brother Jamie are well-known on the WA speedway scene, racing in the formula 500 class for more than a decade.
He won several club champion awards as a young racer with Great Southern Kart Club.
In November 2022, Mr Nardini raced with his brother Jamie in the King of Wings event at the Perth Motorplex.
They both finished in the top five in the 15-lap final.
Ms Nardini said her family had been devastated by the incident and asked friends to provide character references for her son for her lawyers to reference in court.
“His lawyer has spoken to him three times today and he is being so strong,” Ms Nardini wrote, thanking them.
Dozens of people, many from the family’s hometown of Narrogin, responded to Ms Nardini’s request, with supportive messages.
Last month Mr Nardini shared a Facebook post of him bungee jumping in Queenstown, New Zealand, as his friends commended his courage.