Salinas man gets prison time for crash that killed passenger

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) A Salinas man charged with gross vehicular manslaughter with intoxication has been sentenced to prison, according to the Monterey County District Attorney's Office.

On the afternoon of July 4, 2019, the DA's Office said 23-year-old Jose Saul Flores Orellana was speeding on Arroyo Seco Road near Clark Road and lost control of the vehicle. Investigators said the vehicle went off the road, overturned and landed in a drainage ditch.

Orellana's passenger, Jose Antonio Escobar, died of his injuries that resulted from the crash.

When the California Highway Patrol responded to the scene, officers said they smelled alcohol on Orellana. He told them he had a couple beers earlier that day, but officers said he failed a series of Field Sobriety Tests and testing showed that he had a blood alcohol content of .13%, higher than the .08% legal limit.

Orellana was sentenced to six years in prison.