KGET reports on a man found guilty of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated facing up to four years in jail.
The case was the first fatal marijuana DUI case to be prosecuted in Kern County.
However, it also exposed a loophole in California law.
When Gabriella Soto was killed by 23-year-old John Hernandez, she was seven months pregnant. Under California law, because the baby had not yet been born, she could not be considered a victim of manslaughter. Therefore, the jury hearing the case never heard that Soto was pregnant.
Jurors did find that Hernandez was under the influence of marijuana when he swerved into oncoming traffic, striking Soto head-on, killing both her and the child that she was carrying.
Hernandez was charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, however, the jury did not find that Hernandez had acted with gross negligence. Instead, they found that Hernandez has only acted with ordinary negligence, finding him guilty of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
Hernandez is scheduled to be sentenced next month. He can face as little as sixteen months in jail. The maximum sentence is four years.
In California, if a driver is suspected of being intoxicated and is in an accident that kills another person, they can be charged with either gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated or simply vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. The first charge indicates that the driver acted with a total disregard for safety. The jail penalties for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated can be anywhere from 4 to 10 years. Conversely, the jail penalty for vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated can be as little as sixteen months to four years in state prison.
