LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. -- At the request of prosecutors, a judge on Thursday revoked the commercial driver's license of a trucker charged with three misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter counts stemming from a crash that killed three children.

Jorge Romero made his first appearance in a Laguna Niguel courtroom in connection with the charges stemming from the May 4 crash on the San Diego (5) Freeway near Oso Parkway that killed 5-year-old Kyle Coble and his sisters, Emma, 4, and Katie, 2.

Prosecutors asked Orange County Superior Court Judge David Chaffee to revoke Romero's license to drive a truck pending resolution of the case in exchange for allowing him to remain free on his own recognizance, said Susan Schroeder of the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

Defense attorney Andrew Roth did not oppose the request, calling it "reasonable."

Roth said his client, a 37-year-old Apple Valley resident, has not driven a commercial vehicle since the accident.

"He never intends to," the lawyer said. "He's even sold his personal car and hardly ever drives at all. He's haunted by the accident."

The order does not affect Romero's license to drive a regular vehicle, Schroeder said.

Chaffee postponed arraignment until Oct. 30.

The children's parents, Chris and Lori Coble, were in the courtroom.

"We kept them apart," Roth said, adding that his client would be willing to speak to the couple. But for legal reasons, Roth said he has advised his client not to speak about the accident.

"I have to protect any statements," he said.

After a lengthy investigation, the California Highway Patrol determined that Romero was responsible for the crash.

He is accused of negligently crashing his truck into the back of the Ladera Ranch family's minivan and through the back seat, where the children were sitting.

Lori Coble, who was driving, and the children's grandmother, Cynthia Gene Maestri, 60, of Coto de Caza, were injured.

The family was returning home from a day at the Irvine Spectrum, where they had gone to ride the ferris wheel for Kyle's birthday, which was the day before. They were headed south on the 5, and the minivan had come to a stop behind traffic in the exit lane at Oso Parkway.

Romero allegedly came up behind the van at a speed of about 60-70 mph in a tractor-trailer carrying electronics weighing in excess of 40,000 pounds.

Prosecutors allege Romero was inattentive and hit his brakes too late to stop before hitting the minivan. He is accused of driving at an unsafe speed and failing to maintain an appropriate distance from the traffic ahead of him.

A district attorney's official said misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charges may be filed when there is "ordinary negligence" or the failure to use reasonable care to prevent reasonably foreseeable harm to oneself or another.

Felony vehicle manslaughter may be brought in cases of "gross negligence," which involve more than ordinary carelessness, inattention or mistake in judgment.

Drug or alcohol use were not a factor, and Romero was not hurt, authorities said.

Roth said he has not received all discovery in the case.

"I don't know if he was distracted," the attorney said of his client, adding that he has not yet looked into design of the road and signage in the area.

The attorney said his client is not working and has had to borrow money from family members to keep going.

"The whole thing has been difficult," Roth said. "He feels terrible. He's severely depressed."

Romero, who is divorced and has a daughter, 17, and two boys, 13 and 8, whom he visits regularly, has sought counseling through his church, Roth said.

If convicted, Romero faces up to three years in jail, according to Farrah Emami of the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

According to published reports, Romero was cited in 2002 and 2006 for speeding in a tractor-trailer and ticketed for driving without his lights on 2005 and driving with a suspended license in 1997.

The children's deaths galvanized residents of close-knit Ladera Ranch and touched many others who followed the news reports, leading to an outpouring of sympathy for a couple who had doted on their three young children and were left grief-stricken.