A man who was driving under the influence and crashed into a vehicle stopped on the side of Interstate 805 in Mountain View, killing the driver of that vehicle, was sentenced Thursday to 14 years in prison.
Markus Eugene Turner, 27, pleaded guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter and other charges for the May 3 crash that killed 65-year-old Temecula resident Grasiela Gomez.
Prosecutors say Gomez’s car had mechanical problems that morning, forcing her to stop on the shoulder.
Turner, who had smoked marijuana and had a blood-alcohol level of about 0.16 percent — twice the legal driving limit in California — was driving up to 100 mph and weaving between vehicles moments before crashing into Gomez’s vehicle, Deputy District Attorney Melanie Guillen said.
Gomez died at the scene of the wreck. The California Highway Patrol said Turner’s car then struck two other vehicles, causing a chain reaction crash that injured several people.
Turner’s attorney, Sammer Zakhour, asked for a five-year prison sentence, in part because of his client’s remorse and early pleas in the case to all charges filed against him.
The lawyer said the case was “absolutely a tragedy” and that Turner “acknowledged the mistake he made” and “regrets as much as possible for what happened.”
Turner also apologized to Gomez’s family during the sentencing hearing.
“I know she was loved beyond measure,” he told Gomez’s relatives in attendance. “I am truly sorry that her life was cut short and for the pain my actions have caused your family.”
– City News Service
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