Posted on 02/29/2020 7:45:18 AM PST by L.A.Justice
SANTA ANA, Calif. - A 29-year-old San Clemente woman was sentenced Thursday to 51 years to life in prison for an alcohol-fueled crash in Huntington Beach that killed two Las Vegas teenagers and an 18-year-old man on spring break.
Bani Marcela Duarte was convicted Oct. 1 of three counts of second- degree murder and a single count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury, for causing the March 29, 2018, pre-dawn crash.
Killed in the crash were the other driver, 17-year-old Brooke Hawley, and passengers 18-year-old Dylan Mack and 17-year-old Albert Rossi.
A fourth high school classmate, Alexis Vargas, managed to escape the burning Toyota Camry, but sustained second-degree burns to one arm.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Dan Feldman told Orange County Superior Court Judge Gary Paer during the sentencing hearing that he recently read a "beyond gut-wrenching" note from the defendant's daughter saying "she's being a good girl" so her mother can return home.
"I don't envy this court at this moment," Feldman said, noting the defendant got "into her own car with her own children's car seats visible to her" before she turned the key after a night of drinking.
Feldman said during Duarte's trial that the defendant had gone out drinking in several bars and clubs throughout Orange County, ending up at Baja Sharkeez in Newport Beach, where "she consumed an unfathomable amount of alcohol."
When she left the bar, Duarte was driving north, but was so drunk she thought she was driving south toward home, Feldman said. Three men in a Jeep spotted her erratic driving, and one of them called 911, he said.
While making a left turn onto Pacific Coast Highway "she swung so wide she struck the curb with the passenger side of her car," Feldman said.
Duarte got out of the Hyundai she was driving to "inspect the damage," and then got back into the car and kept driving, he said.
"She ignored that warning about her ability to drive," Feldman said.
The three witnesses said she appeared to be "beyond intoxicated," and that she was "burping, staggering," he said. They were still on the line with a 911 dispatcher when the Hyundai slammed into the rear of a Toyota Camry that was stopped at a red light at Magnolia Street about 1 a.m., Feldman said.
The Camry burst into flames from the impact.
Feldman said a post-crash blood test showed her blood-alcohol level was 0.28%. The legal limit is 0.08%.
During Thursday's sentencing hearing, Hawley's mother, Rhonda, told Paer, "We lost such a bright and beautiful girl, and in the process we all lost ourselves."
Brooke Hawley was the designated driver for her friends the night of the crash, according to her family. She was an honors student in her junior year and was being scouted by soccer coaches for college, her parents said.
The teen's father, Aaron Hawley, said he is haunted by how his daughter died.
"I never got to say goodbye to my daughter," he said. "Her body was horrifically burned."
Rossi's father, also named Albert, told Paer he was a Vietnam veteran, and he compared his son's death to his combat experience.
"Vietnam was a living hell, but it was a walk in the park compared to this," the elder Rossi said, adding he suffered a heart attack after his son's death.
"My son was an avid athlete," Rossi said. "He was an avid ocean swimmer. He was a great basketball player and a wonderful football player."
Rossi's sister, Allie, said she helped raise her brother because their mother died when Albert was only 5.
"My brother loved the beach," she said, explaining how for the past four years he would go on road trips to the Pacific Ocean.
"Anything near the ocean he loved."
She said her brother "lit up every room he walked into. ... He was good at everything he did."
With liberal ‘just us’ I bet she’s out in 5 years for good behavior.
I pray that is not the case.
A thinking person wonders if an illegal alien would have received the same treatment and degree of punishment.
Color me skeptical, but I wager the answer to that is no.
> the defendant had gone out drinking in several bars and clubs throughout Orange County...where “she consumed an unfathomable amount of alcohol.” <
It’s good to hear that the woman is being severely punished for killing three people. But someone served her drink after drink after drink.
I believe in personal responsibility. She made the decision to drink and drive. But whoever served her should be charged as an accessory.
“”But whoever served her should be charged as an accessory.””
Having lived in CA for years, I thought that was true. It’s not or is no longer?
To be so drunk that you don’t know if you’re traveling to San Clemente or away from San Clemente is pretty darned drunk!! Must be no landmarks along the way rang any bells with her. I guess that could be considered “blind drunk.”
Horrible story.....
Yup. I never drink and drive and I’ve never had a DUI in my entire life.
There’s an old saying - in vino veritas. My interpretation? People who are reckless become more reckless. People who are cautious become more cautious. So the reckless drive 80 instead of their usual 50 in a 35 zone. And the cautious drive 20 instead of 30 in a 35 zone.
That’s not nearly long enough!
My God, what a story.
This woman chose to drive her car despite the fact her judgment and everything about her were grossly impaired.
That didn’t mitigate her actions and it only compounded her offense.
So often it seems the drunk drivers are not killed in the crashes they cause, or even badly injured. They just end up in court/prison.
She gets to live. The victims don’t get that chance.
This sound righteous in principle, but would be terrible in practice. Can you imagine the tort law suit bonanza from this? Suddenly every sharing of a drink - even in your own home - become a threat. Someone drinks a beer at your house and has a wreck on the way home. You prepared to be sued out the wazoo...? because you can bet your life every ambulance chasing lawyer will be on this as a cash cow especially if you have deep pockets of a homeowners policy or life savings for retirement. Add to this every establishment serving alcohol become a prime target. It’s a never ending nightmare.
Next on the agenda? Suits against gun manufacturers for producing a gun used in a crime. This is all a terrible idea.
Yup. Families have had to bury their kids. She’ll never be able to kill someone else again.
Sometimes people belong in prison and to my mind this is one of those times where that kind of sentence is absolutely justified.
We have to live with the consequences of our actions.
Up to a point yes
[This woman chose to drive her car despite the fact her judgment and everything about her were grossly impaired.
That didn’t mitigate her actions and it only compounded her offense.]
And the bartender knew she was driving because . . . ?
You make some good points. But there is negligence, and then there is gross negligence. Continuing to serve someone who is falling down drunk is so grossly negligent that it becomes criminal behavior.
Would such a law be misused? Sure. That’s true with any law. Here you’d just have to trust juries, as imperfect as they are.
As to guns, suppose I lend you my deer rifle, and you accidentally shoot someone later. I can’t image a jury holding me responsible. But if I lend you my rifle while you are falling down drunk, that’s a different story.
> And the bartender knew she was driving because . . . ? <
A few simple questions would be all that is needed. Just as a few simple questions is all that’s needed to see if a young person is of age to order a drink.
Such questioning would not be foolproof. But it sure would help.
And one more thing. In my state all the liquor stores have a sign on the front door: “If you are visibly intoxicated we cannot serve you.” It doesn’t matter if you’re driving or not. You will not be served, period.
Such a practice should be mandatory for bars as well.
“This sound righteous in principle, but would be terrible in practice.”
Agree completely. One huge gray area. One extreme is a hectic bar scene with multiple servers and crowds of customers, how can any server be expected to monitor the intoxication level of any individual customer. In the other extreme would be the hypothetical single drinker and single server who continues serving until the barely conscious customer staggers out of the bar with the car keys in his hand. Life is like that...a continuum of gray, not black and white. And then there’s that ancient concept of PERSONAL responsibility..a world where people are responsible for their OWN actions without the endless options for blaming others.
They’re call Dram Laws and all 50 states have them.
Look it up.
L
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