A man from Petaluma received a nearly 24-year sentence for a fatal DUI accident that killed a woman and severely injured a man. Francisco Gonzalez-Mejia, 22, got sentenced by a Sonoma County court, California, on Thursday, August 13th.
The man pled no contest to charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, fleeing the scene of an accident resulting in death, and serious bodily harm. The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office said that on the day of the crash, in June 2018, Gonzalez-Mejia has a blood alcohol content two and a half times over the legal limit.
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The accident report showed that the collision happened as the man sped north on Highway 101 near Airport Boulevard exit. He slammed into the rear of a Toyota Corolla, causing it to go off the road and crash head-on into a tree.
The prosecutors said that a passenger in the Toyota, Lourdes Oscanoa-Marcelo, a 47-year-old resident of Rohnert Park, died in the incident. The driver, Elvis Barzola-Veliz, 48, of Rohnert Park, sustained severe bodily harm. The convicted man fled the scene on foot, but the county police found him walking on the shoulder of Fulton Road.
District Attorney Jill Ravitch said in a press release that the accident was tragic and completely avoidable. He noted that the defendant chose to drive with a blood alcohol level over and beyond the legal limit.
Ravitch said that those who choose to become impaired and drive put everyone on the road at risk. He added that the DA’s office would aggressively prosecute offenders.
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