An Orange County firefighter pleaded guilty Friday and was immediately sentenced to six months in jail for a deadly hit-and-run collision with a pedestrian in Dana Point.
Jeffrey Richard Grasinger, 37, of Rancho Santa Margarita, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of hit and run with permanent injury or death. He was indicted in October of 2023 with a felony count of hit and run with permanent injury or death, which carries a maximum punishment of four years in prison.
Grasinger, who was set to report to jail on Monday, was also placed on one year of informal probation.
He killed 24-year-old Said Darinel Sanchez on Oct. 21, 2022. Prosecutors said Grasinger struck the victim at about 6:45 p.m. while the man was crossing Pacific Coast Highway — causing him to go airborne, spin through the air and fall head-first into the pavement — and did not stop to render aid.
Sheriff’s investigators tracked the vehicle to a home in Rancho Santa Margarita, where blood was found on the front of the vehicle, which sustained damage from the collision, prosecutors said.
“We believe the misdemeanor plea and sentence was the right call in this case,” Grasinger’s attorney, Paul Meyer, said. “This unfortunate case of a man unexpectedly darting out into heavy traffic is a tragedy for all concerned.”