A motorist who caused an alcohol-fueled crash that killed an 18-year-old man and injured five others in Santa Ana was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life in prison.
Herbert Granados Calderon, 26, pleaded guilty March 7 to second-degree murder in the Oct. 25, 2014, death of Roberto Rubio, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Mark Birney.
The defendant turned to the family members of the victim and his own relatives and apologized before he was led away by deputies.
“I apologize,” he said. “I’m going to try to become a better man.”
Rubio’s mother said her son enjoyed dancing and was working to support his family at the time of his death.
“He was such a good son with me. He was my support, my everything,” Maria Esther Rubio said through a translator, adding that she felt sorry for the defendant and his family.
Calderon was speeding south on Bristol Street in a 2007 Lexus ES350 when he ran a red light at Central Avenue and broadsided a 2014 Honda Civic with Rubio in the backseat, Birney said. The crash pushed the Honda into a Chevrolet pickup truck.
Calderon’s blood-alcohol level was 0.11 percent, over the legal limit of 0.08, Birney said.
Because Calderon had pleaded guilty to driving under the influence on June 18, 2013, he was charged with murder instead of manslaughter in the case, Birney said.
When Calderon admitted the DUI in 2013, he was warned that if he drove drunk again and someone died, he could have the charges upgraded to murder.
— City News Service