Former Elementary School Teacher Sentenced To 15 Years In Prison After Killing A Woman In A DUI Crash

DUI murder is both one of the rarest and most serious charges someone can face in California. It is a second-degree murder charge, which is always charged as a felony. Many times, the prosecutor will also charge the alleged drunk driver with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. Murder charges generally require that the person have a previous conviction for DUI, though second-degree murder charges have occurred without this prerequisite. When it comes to DUI murder, sometimes also called Watson murder, the possible penalty is fifteen years to life in state prison. The penalty for the manslaughter charge is four, six, or ten years in prison. 

ABC 7 reports that a former elementary school principal has been sentenced to fifteen years to life in prison. The former educator was responsible for a DUI crash that killed a woman. 

Last Thursday, 37-year-old Mary Kruppe was sentenced to fifteen years to life in state prison. 

The sentence comes after Kruppe was found guilty on February 7th of second-degree murder in the DUI crash that killed 29-year-old Jessica Ordaz. 

The charges stem from a crash that occurred on November 15, 2018. Kruppe was driving her Jeep Wrangler when it veered into oncoming traffic. She hit Ordaz’s Mazda 3 head-on. 

According to police, Kruppe was very intoxicated. The police further disclosed that Kruppe had a BAC of more than twice the legal limit even two hours after the accident. 

At the sentencing hearing, Ordaz’s family made heartfelt impact statements. Kruppe apologized to the mourning family. 

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