WESTMINSTER — A 40-year-old man pleaded guilty Monday and was sentenced to nine years in prison for an alcohol-fueled, hit-and-run crash that killed a man and injured another victim in Garden Grove.
Mario Miguel Hernandez-Lopez of Garden Grove admitted one count each of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury and hit-and-run with permanent and serious injury, all felonies, as well as two misdemeanor counts of hit-and-run with property damage.
The defendant also admitted a sentencing enhancement allegation of fleeing the scene of a vehicular manslaughter. Hernandez-Lopez accepted a plea deal from Orange County Superior Court Judge Craig Robison, who gave the defendant credit for 1,406 days behind bars.
Hernandez-Lopez killed 27-year-old Pedro Vergara of Garden Grove in the May 8, 2021, crash at Woodbury Road and Libby Lane, near Euclid Street and the 22 Freeway, police said.
A white Nissan Titan pickup truck eastbound on Woodbury was speeding as it approached Libby and slammed into the rear of a Toyota Camry, which was stopped at the intersection, police said. The force of the collision propelled the Toyota through the intersection before it collided with two parked cars.
Hernandez-Lopez, who was driving the Nissan, lost control of the truck, which slammed into a retaining wall on the north side of the street, police said. The suspect tried to flee but was quickly arrested, police said.
Vergara was pronounced dead at the scene and a passenger in his car was taken to UC Irvine Medical Center to be treated for minor injuries, police said.
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