Unlicensed Driver Sentenced To Four Years
Posted on July 3, 2012 Written By: iadminlaw
Driving is not a right; it’s a privilege. Some motorists forget that and unwisely get behind the wheel without a drivers’ license. Little do they know that they put other motorists and pedestrians at risk.
An unlicensed driver has been sentenced to four years in prison for hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter for running over a 4-year-old boy in a Santa Rosa crosswalk last year and speeding off.
English: San Francisco Giants cap insignia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Marcos Lopez Garcia, 24, killed 4-year-old Christopher “Buddy” Rowe of Santa Rosa in a deadly crash last August.
Garcia pleaded guilty in May to all the charges he faced, including felony hit-and-run and two misdemeanors, vehicular manslaughter and driving without a valid license.
At a hearing Friday in Santa Rosa, Judge Ken Gnoss of Sonoma County Superior Court ordered Garcia to serve four years in prison for hit-and-run and said he could serve a year for the vehicular manslaughter concurrently.
Christopher was crossing West Ninth Street with two siblings and their mother in a crosswalk when he was hit by Garcia’s Honda Accord. The family was heading to soccer practice at nearby Jacobs Park.
The boy died a day later at Children’s Hospital Oakland.
Garcia drove away, but a man listening to a police scanner spotted his car at Finley Park, less than a mile from the crash. The man saw Garcia peel off an orange San Francisco Giants decal from the rear window, then get into a second car and drive away.
Garcia was later arrested. He does not have a driver’s license and has two previous arrests for driving without a license.
Five days before the crash, a judge had ordered Garcia not to drive until a court appearance in October, police said.
If you or a loved one were harmed by an unlicensed driver, it is important that you contact a committed and dedicated personal injury lawyer to help you determine if you should file a wrongful death lawsuit. A competent and reputable injury lawyer can help you receive the compensation you deserve for your pain and suffering.
