Two drivers were acquitted Friday of murder but convicted of drunken driving charges stemming from a crash that killed a 90- year-old woman on Christmas night two years ago.
Vincent Lopez, 31, and Victor Hugo Sanchez, 36, were accused of taking part in a street race that ended when a vehicle driven by Lopez slammed into a van. Cilia La Torre, who was in a wheelchair in the back of the van, was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene.
Lopez was found guilty of two counts of drunk driving causing injury and is set for sentencing Nov. 17.
Sanchez was found guilty of a misdemeanor DUI count, sentenced to 730 days in jail and released based on time served, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
La Torre had just been released from Queen of the Valley Hospital and was sitting in the wheelchair in the van being driven by her son, Jaime Ochoa, who was treated for head trauma at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, authorities said.
Police said Lopez and Sanchez were seen street racing on Lark Ellen Avenue moments before the crash. Witnesses reported seeing Lopez and Sanchez run a stop sign at the corner of Lark Ellen and Merced avenues, near the collision site.
Both had been drinking in a bar in the 200 block of South Glendora Avenue about an hour earlier, detectives said.
Lopez was taken to the Queen of the Valley Hospital for treatment of leg injuries. Sanchez was arrested several hours later.
— City News Service