Gonzales woman sentence after man, child die in DUI crash
GONZALES, Calif. (KION) Monterey County judge sentenced Sarah Valdez, 33, to six years and eight months in state prison. According to Monterey County District Attorney's Office, Valdez pleads no contest to two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and one count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury.
The DA said Valdez was driving towards Salinas with a friend Samuel Bravo and her two sons, ages six and eight at the time, after drinking alcohol at a social gathering. She was driving 100 mph and lost control of her car, crashing into an agriculture field, rolling several times.
Bravo was ejected from his seat and pronounced dead at the scene. The two children were rushed to the hospital, but the six-year-old did not survive. The eight-year-old was treated and recovered.
After the crash, California Highway Patrol had Valdez take a breath test and found she had a blood alcohol concentration of .10, which is above the legal limit of .08.
READ MORE: Woman faces DUI charges after crash that killed man, child appears in court
UPDATED Oct. 25 2020 The CHP confirms that the driver involved in a suspected DUI crash is related to two boys that were passengers inside the car, one of whom died at the hospital after the accident Sunday morning.
The driver has major injuries from the crash. She was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
The CHP said another passenger, a 31-year-old man, was also killed in the crash. His identity has not been released at this time.
The accident is still under investigation.
PREVIOUS STORY Oct. 25, 2020:
One man and one child are dead following a suspected DUI crash Sunday.
The California Highway Patrol responded to reports of a crash along northbound US-101 near Gonzales at 3:32 a.m. Upon arrival, they discovered a lack BMW overturned in a field alongside the highway.
The vehicle was carrying four people: 32-year-old Gonzalez resident Sarah Carrillo Valdez (the driver), a 31-year-old man, a six-year-old boy and an eight-year-old boy. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, and the six-year-old boy was pronounced dead at the hospital. The eight-year-old boy sustained major injuries and was transported to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. Valdez also sustained major injuries.
Valdez has since been arrested for DUI including Gross Vehicular Manslaughter while intoxicated. This crash is still under investigation.
