My News LA reported recently that an elderly woman who was allegedly extremely intoxicated when she crashed head-on into a car full of teenagers in 2019, killing her husband and injuring two teenagers in the other vehicle, has now been sentenced for her role in the accident.
According to police and court records, the original accident happened on the afternoon of April 16, 2019, just south of the city limits of Desert Hot Springs, on Mountain View Road near Club House Drive. The woman was well in excess of the legal limit for blood alcohol content when she crashed head-on into another vehicle, killing her already paralyzed husband, 64 years of age, and causing significant injuries to two other victims.
The woman, 69 years of age, pleaded guilty three months ago to felony charges of DUI gross vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury, and driving with a blood-alcohol content exceeding the legal limit of .08% causing bodily injury. Several sentence enhancements were also admitted to.
While she faced years of jail time, the Riverside County Superior Court judge overseeing the case suspended a prison sentence in favor of five years of probation, citing the defendant’s remorse and the health risks COVID-19 presented to someone of her age.
