Eric Chen Su

Introduction

Eric Chen Su is a 38-year-old Apple employee charged with murder in the November 6, 2026 traffic crash that killed 2-year-old Riley Howard of San Jose just outside the company’s Cupertino headquarters. Prosecutors say Su, driving a Toyota Camry, rear-ended a Chevrolet Trax stopped at a red light on Tantau Avenue at nearly 100 mph — four times the posted limit — leaving the struck car mangled and burning; Riley, properly restrained inside, died of her injuries at a hospital, and her babysitter survived with head and spinal injuries. Su appeared before a Palo Alto judge on Tuesday, November 10, facing felony counts of murder and assault with a deadly weapon, and has not entered a plea. The charges are accusations; he is presumed innocent.

Background Information

Su is a 38-year-old resident of Santa Clara, and the deputy’s statement of facts filed with the complaint states that he is an Apple employee who reasonably would have known that Tantau Avenue at noon on a weekday is busy with vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic — the crash happened at North Tantau Avenue and Pruneridge Avenue, just north of Apple Park Way, the main thoroughfare of Apple’s headquarters. He was arrested last Friday on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter before prosecutors elevated the case to a murder charge on Tuesday. The deputy’s report found no signs of drug or alcohol impairment, but noted that statements from Su’s family indicated a history of mental health concerns.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Charged, not convicted. Su faces a felony count of murder and a felony count of assault with a deadly weapon, with the complaint further alleging he personally inflicted great bodily injury and that the victim was particularly vulnerable. He has not entered a plea, and everything below comes from charging documents, a deputy’s statement of facts and prosecutors’ public statements — allegations he has not answered in court.

The crash happened shortly after noon on Friday, November 6, at the intersection of North Tantau Avenue and Pruneridge Avenue in Cupertino, between Su’s Toyota Camry and a Chevrolet Trax carrying Riley and her babysitter. Per the deputy’s statement of facts, the Camry was traveling at speeds over 90 mph northbound on Tantau “at a reckless, excessive speed that a reasonable person would know is careless, reckless, and without due regard for the safety of others” when it rear-ended the Trax, which was stopped at the intersection — prosecutors said it was going nearly 100 mph, four times the posted limit, and that the Camry driver did not apply his brakes before the collision. The evidence showed the speedometer stuck at 100 mph after the crash, which Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Rob Baker called decisive: “Unquestionably, murder was the appropriate charge. The speedometer in his vehicle appeared to have been frozen at 100 at the time of the collision.”

The collision mangled the Trax and set it on fire. Witnesses told ABC7 that several bystanders ran toward the burning car and pulled Riley and her babysitter to safety; both were taken to a nearby hospital, where Riley later died of her injuries. Her babysitter survived with head and spinal injuries, while Su suffered minor injuries, according to the sheriff’s report. Riley was identified by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner’s Office as 2-year-old Riley Howard of San Jose.

Su appeared in court Tuesday, November 10, in a wheelchair but was otherwise uninjured, according to Baker, and no plea was entered.

Public Reaction and Consequences

A memorial was set up at the crash site for Riley, and mourners have been leaving tributes there in the days since the crash. The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said it will continue pursuing the case as prosecutors seek to hold Su accountable for Riley’s death, and the murder filing — an unusual charge for a traffic death, justified publicly by the frozen speedometer and the no-brakes finding — drew wide national coverage of the case across television, wire and print outlets. No public statement from Su or an attorney for him was reported in the coverage reviewed for this page, and no statement from Apple was reported either. Witnesses’ accounts of bystanders running into the burning car to pull the toddler and her babysitter out circulated widely alongside the charging announcements.

Current Status

Su has been charged with murder and assault with a deadly weapon, with the complaint’s great-bodily-injury and vulnerable-victim allegations attached, and he has not entered a plea. His next court hearing is scheduled for November 30, and the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office says it will continue pursuing the case. He remains presumed innocent: the murder theory rests on the prosecutors’ account of the frozen speedometer, the absence of braking and the deputy’s statement about his speed and awareness of the busy corridor, all of which his defense has not yet had the opportunity to answer in court.

Impact on Their Career/Life

A murder charge growing out of a traffic crash puts the most serious exposure California law allows on the table for a 38-year-old whose only public identity was his job at Apple — the charging documents make his employer part of the case’s theory, arguing he knew the corridor outside the headquarters his employer sits on was busy at midday. The deputy’s report also put his family’s accounts of mental health history into the public record while finding no sign of drugs or alcohol. For Riley Howard’s family, the case now moves toward a November 30 hearing with a murder count, an allegation set built around vulnerable-victim and great-bodily-injury enhancements, and a community still mourning at the roadside memorial.

Sources

• “Apple worker charged in 100 mph fatal crash near Cupertino HQ’s — New York Post” source
• “Man charged with murder after crashing into car at nearly 100 mph killing toddler near Apple HQ — ABC7 News Bay Area” source
• “Driver charged with murder after fiery Cupertino crash that killed toddler — CBS San Francisco” source
• “@nypost on X: Apple worker, 38, accused of killing girl, 2, in 100 mph horror crash outside tech giant’s HQ” source