Fox L.A. reports that a man previously convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for his role in a crash that killed a 6-year-old Orange County girl.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement on Friday, September 9, that a jury found 56-year-old Maximino Delgado Lagunas guilty of one felony count of second-degree murder for his role in a crash in February of 2018.
Court documents indicate that the incident happened after Lagunas left work. Lagunas lost control of his vehicle, jumping the opposite curb and onto the sidewalk. He then struck the little girl and dragged her underneath his vehicle until he hit a parked car.
The little girl died from the injuries she suffered in the crash.
Lab toxicology reports taken at the time of the crash showed that Lagunas had a blood-alcohol level of 0.22 percent – nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
In a previous DUI conviction in 2015, Lagunas had been warned about the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol. When a driver is warned of these dangers, the Watson Advisement informs convicted DUI drivers that should they kill someone while under the influence of alcohol, they can be charged with murder.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer told reporters that children should be free to play outside on the sidewalk in front of their homes without fear of being harmed by a drunk driver.
“A six-year-old girl is dead because someone who had already been warned about the dangers of drinking and driving ignored those warnings and got behind the wheel drunk,” Spitzer said.
