A Dinuba man faces murder charges in connection with a December 2023 drunken-driving crash that left a mother and daughter dead and others injured, the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.

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Blake Benham, 43, a former school principal, is charged with two counts of murder and two counts of intoxicated manslaughter.

In addition to these charges, Benham is charged with two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol causing personal injury, where the blood alcohol concentration was over 0.15 percent, and with aggravated assault on two other victims.

Benham is accused of killing Gloria Barajas, 55, and her daughter Brenda Quinonez, 35, in a crash last December on Route 56 near Avenue 430 in Reedley.

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Benham was arrested by the California Highway Patrol on Wednesday and is scheduled to appear in court this week. He had been arrested previously but was released on bail and released from jail.

If convicted on all counts, Benham faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. The case is being investigated by the CHP Visalia Area Central Division.

Benham is on leave from his position as principal of Kennedy Elementary School.

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