OAKLAND — A Berkeley man with three previous driving under the influence convictions has been charged with murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in the death Sunday morning on Interstate 880 of a 19-year-old looking forward to attending college in Ohio on a full scholarship.
Maury Butler, 56, is charged in the death of Jesaun Benson, 19, of Antioch, who was killed about 2:25 a.m. Sunday as he stood on northbound I-880 near Hegenberger Road.
Benson had been driving a car involved in a crash with another vehicle on the freeway and was standing outside when he was struck by a white Lexus driven by Butler, the California Highway Patrol said. He died at the scene.
Benson’s mother, Sabrina Benson Abbitt, said her son had just turned 19 years old in late June and was excited about heading to Central State University in Ohio on a full scholarship this fall.
“Jesaun was very good in math, very, very good with math, algebra and computers,” Benson Abbitt recalled. “He was a great dancer, too. That’s what many people don’t know about him. He’d always dance around the house, being silly.”
Butler, who in jail documents indicated he worked for a grocery chain, remained at the scene, and CHP Officer Carlos Rios said in court documents that Butler admitted driving the Lexus. Rios said in the documents that at he and his partner “detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage” coming from Butler.
Butler at first told Rios he had not been drinking but it was later learned he had told Rios’ partner earlier that he had consumed one beer, the documents say.
Butler also exhibited physical signs of being under the influence and did not pass a field sobriety test, according to the documents. Authorities said Butler also did not have a valid driver’s license, as his had been suspended following one of the prior DUI convictions.
Jesaun’s little sister, 13-year-old Janiyah Benson, said that her older brother always was there for her with advice on life, basketball and overcoming adversity.
“If I ever needed advice, he was there for me. I had some events where people racially criticized me and made me uncomfortable ,and he was there and gave me advice because he went through the same thing,” Janiyah Benson said in an interview on Wednesday. “He always liked to make me feel better, and I could always look up to him.”
Janiyah Benson remembered Jesaun teaching her to play basketball when she was younger and though she didn’t pick it up quickly that day, she continued to play and improved over the past year.
“I showed him, and he was really happy,” she remembered. “I’m going to continue to play, for him.”
Janiyah plays on Delta Vista Middle School’s basketball team.
The family set up a GoFundMe fund-raising campaign at www.gofundme.com/please-help-jesaun039s-family Tuesday to help cover funeral expense costs.
As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, the campaign has raised $770 toward a $15,000 goal.
Butler is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail. Details about his previous DUI convictions, which the CHP said occurred in the last 10 years, were not available.
— Staff writer Aaron Davis contributed to this report.