KGET News reports that a woman who was charged with two counts of DUI murder in an incident that happened almost two years ago was sentenced in court on Wednesday.
Court documents show that Lisa Core had multiple prior DUI convictions before she fatally struck a 19-year-old brother and his 10-year-old sister on December 8, 2021. Prosecutors charged her with two counts of DUI Second-Degree murder. She pleaded no contest to the charges.
Witnesses for the prosecution say that the 19-year-old brother had gone to pick up his little sister at Granite Pointe Elementary at a bus stop on Panama Lane when Lisa Core, driving a golden Buick LaCrosse, jumped the sidewalk and struck the two siblings and a fire hydrant. Bakersfield Police Officer Zachary Burdick testified that Core was driving 52 miles per hour when she hit the victims. Both died at the scene of the crash.
First responders with the Bakersfield Fire Department said Core had a slow, lethargic demeanor and slurred speech.
Officer Burdick and other investigating officers at the scene found several prescription pill bottles and pills scattered on the floor of Core’s vehicle near the front passenger seat.
A toxicology test performed by Ivette Ruvalcaba, a criminalist in the Kern Regional Crime Lab, revealed that Core tested positive for amphetamines, methamphetamine, clonazepam, and 7-amino clonazepam. The test showed that Core’s blood had a concentration greater than 1000 nanograms per milliliter of methamphetamine.
Ruvalcaba told the court that this was a higher concentration than her machine was capable of registering.
Core pleaded no contest to the charges against her in July.
Yesterday, family members struggled through tears to make their victim statements before the court. Core claimed that she was too emotional to respond to the victim’s family, but her attorney told the court that she was remorseful and would give her life if it could bring the brother and sister back.
The judge in the case has sentenced Core to 15 years to life in prison.
