A 41-year-old woman with a previous DUI conviction was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years to life in prison for the alcohol-fueled crash that killed a pedestrian in Stanton.
Cristina Gaudalupe Gonzales was convicted July 29 of second-degree murder in the March 21, 2021, crash that killed 31-year-old Desiree Robles. She has 833 days credit for time behind bars awaiting trial.
The crash occurred at about 1:30 a.m. on the Stanton/Garden Grove border as Robles was crossing the street outside of a crosswalk at 8901 Katella Ave., near Magnolia Street, according to Carrie Braun, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Robles died at the scene, the coroner’s office reported.
Gonzales had a blood-alcohol level of .17, more than twice the legal limit of .08, according to court records.
Gonzales “made the senseless decision to drive while in the influence, resulting in devastation and unimaginable loss,” prosecutors said in a sentencing brief.
Gonzales had a prior DUI conviction, so she was given an advisement that if she killed someone in a DUI crash she could face an upgraded charge from manslaughter to murder.
“After pulling out onto the main road, defendant recklessly accelerated her vehicle to freeway speeds, endangering the lives of every single person out on the street that night,” prosecutors said.
“And tragically, it only took a few seconds before the defendant’s dangerous actions resulted in the victim’s death.”