An Española woman was sentenced DATE to 18 months in jail for causing a crash that left two people seriously injured.
Victoria Gonzales, 26, received half of the maximum sentence allowed for a conviction of great bodily injury by vehicle July 9 in state District Court in Tierra Amarilla. Gonzales will only have to serve six months in jail since she was credited for time-served while awaiting trial.
Gonzales caused the three-car accident the evening of June 15, 2008, on State Road 68 near the Ohkay Casino. She was driving northbound when her Chevrolet Lumina clipped a Nissan sedan and flipped across the median and onto a Crown Victoria going southbound.
Gonzales had a blood alcohol concentration of .11 (the legal limit is .08). Police originally stated Gonzales had been speeding, but defense attorney Dan Marlowe said he had a witness who contradicted those claims.
Two adults in the Nissan sustained minor injuries while two of the four occupants in the Crown Victoria were not so lucky.
Crown Victoria driver George Gallegos and his then-8-year-old daughter Regina Cata suffered serious head injuries and had to be airlifted to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque. Both victims have ongoing disabilities today. The other two occupants in the Crown Victoria escaped the crash with minor injuries.
The case was resolved in March when the prosecution and defense reached a plea agreement prior to trial.
Gallegos had been outraged when prosecutors agreed to a plea deal in which a second count of causing great bodily injury by vehicle was dismissed against Gonzales. That charge had been filed for the injuries caused to Gallegos.
However, the District Attorney’s office is not obligated to abide by victims’ wishes for case dispositions. Assistant District Attorney Katie Thwaits did not return calls for comment.
For Gallegos, last week’s sentencing hearing was a further twist of the knife. Defense attorney Dan Marlowe claimed at the hearing Gallegos did not take evasive action from Gonzales’ car, was not wearing a seat belt and had a blood alcohol concentration of .075, just shy of the legal limit. He further asserted that Cata was not wearing a seat belt.
“That is (expletive),” Gallegos said aloud while Marlowe spoke.
“May God forgive you, ‘cause I never could for what you did to my daughter,” Gallegos told Victoria Gonzales, as the two turned to face each other.
Gonzales’ parents took the podium in defense of their daughter.
“She cries about it, she feels remorseful about it, she feels guilty about it,” FATHER’S NAME said. “She has been subject to threats and ridiculed by the public, and this will carry on with her the rest of her life.”
Victoria Gonzales visibly shook while apologizing to all of the victims, saying she ruined the lives of innocent people through her bad judgment.
Marlowe’s primary argument in favor of light sentencing was that Gonzales needed to remain free in order to pay restitution in accordance with the plea agreement. The agreeement stipulates Victoria Gonzales pay for Cata’s and Gallegos’ medical bills. That amount hasn’t been calculated yet, but will be determined by the Adult Probation and Parole Office.
Raphaelson said Gonzales’ need to pay back restitution was part of the reason why she didn’t hand down more jail time. Raphaelson did not care what Gallegos was doing in his car at the time of the accident, saying if Gonzales hadn’t been drinking, the crash wouldn’t have happened.
Cata cried throughout the proceeding and was unimpressed with the court’s punishment of the woman she said took away her childhood. Her grandmother mentioned that Cata used to be an A student.
“Now I get straight B’s,” Cata said. “And C’s.”