People v. Vazquez CA5

INTRODUCTION

Appellant/defendant Perla Ibeth Vazquez was 25 years old and already had two prior convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). Her license had been suspended, and she had been advised that she could be charged with murder if someone was killed as a result of her driving under the influence. Despite these warnings, defendant continued to drive while intoxicated and was repeatedly stopped for erratic driving. On October 21, 2011, defendant was again driving without a license while intoxicated. She was traveling at a high rate of speed and crashed into the back of Frank Winslow’s Jeep on the highway, which caused his vehicle to spin, flip over multiple times, and crash down an embankment. Winslow died at the scene from massive internal injuries. Defendant continued driving after the collision, even though her air bag had opened and her car was damaged. She was stopped a short distance away and her car was trailing debris. Her blood-alcohol content was 0.13 percent. Defendant was charged and convicted of count I, second degree murder of Winslow (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a));1 count II, leaving the scene of an accident which caused death (Veh. Code, §…