Salinas woman sentenced after drunk driving crash kills 19-year-old
A Salinas woman has been sentenced to 4 years and 8 months in prison for vehicular manslaughter while under the influence and driving under the influence with a blood alcohol level of .08 or higher causing injury, with the special enhancements of great bodily injury.
22-year-old Zayra Iglesias will serve 85 percent of her sentence before being eligible for parole.
On June 10, 2018, at 2:30 a.m., CHP officers were notified of a vehicle driving southbound in the northbound lanes of US 101 in the area of Airport Boulevard. Upon arrival, the officers observed the aftermath of a collision between two vehicles with one resting on its side.
Officers contacted Zayra Iglesias sitting on the right shoulder of the roadway. Before she was transported to the hospital, the defendant admitted to driving at the time of the collision and related that she wanted to get drunk enough to break up with her boyfriend.
Officers noted the defendant smelled of an alcohol. She related to officers that she had been at a bar with a friend, off of North Main Street in Salinas until approximately 2:00 a.m., at which time she attempted to drive home.
After dropping a friend off at home, and multiple people warning her not to drive, she got in her vehicle and proceeded to get on Highway 101. Proceeding down the highway in the wrong direction at 65-70 miles per hour she crashed into the victim’s vehicle causing it to roll over, killing Mr. Eduardo Madrid and injuring the driver and another passenger. The defendant submitted to a chemical test and had .13/.12% blood alcohol level. At the time of the collision she would have been driving at approximately .20 blood alcohol level, over two times the legal limit.
The victim’s family addressed the Court about their loss, the wonderful nature of Mr. Madrid who had his entire life in front of him and their request for justice.
