David Ernest Baskett, the former Santa Maria Airport Commissioner, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter and was sentenced to one year’s probation for his role in the forklift-inflicted death of 24-year-old Tiffany Ann Peterson in 2024.
At the time of the killing, Baskett had his vehicle perpendicularly extended 20 feet into the lane of oncoming traffic — on an airport property road — with the eight-foot-long forklift elevated four feet off the ground. Peterson’s father drove his pickup truck right into the forklift, which impaled Peterson’s car and killed his daughter, sitting in the passenger’s seat at the scene, immediately. Because Baskett, now 83, wasn’t using the forklift at the time, the forklift prongs should have been dropped to ground level to avoid such grisly incidents from occurring. At the time of the collision, Baskett said he couldn’t back up because there was a safety vehicle immediately behind him.
When notified that criminal charges had been filed, Baskett said he was “shocked and sad,” adding he was also “appalled.”
After the accident, the airport board revoked Baskett’s access to restricted areas, and the airport insurance company threatened to cancel the airport’s policy unless Baskett was pulled from it, citing him as a high-risk client. Baskett later sued the airport, its general counsel, its insurance carrier, and fellow board members.
“While no outcome can undo that harm,” said District Attorney John Savrnoch, “we are satisfied that Mr. Baskett has been held accountable for his actions.”
