Killer driver gets prison

A farm worker whose drunken driving caused the death of a 17-year-old Marysville girl received the maximum 10-year prison sentence Friday in Yuba County Superior Court.

Lorenzo Flores-Aguilar, 50, who lived in the 1700 block of Ellis Lake Drive, will have to serve at least five years.

The Jan. 16 accident on Highway 20 east of Marysville killed Danielle Woodruff, who was on her way to a birthday party. She was days away from her own 18th birthday.

Debra Lee, Woodruff's mother, told the court her daughter's death "was unnatural, undignified and, most importantly, unnecessary."

"I honestly don't know how I am here today," Lee read from her victim impact statement. "I died that night, right beside the motionless body of my daughter Danielle."

Flores-Aguilar pleaded guilty earlier to a charge of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. The sentence came just 49 days after the accident.

At Friday's hearing, he sat with his head down while Woodruff's relatives read victim impact statements. He does not speak English and did not make a statement.

Flores-Aguilar normally would be on parole after the sentence is served but instead will be deported to Mexico, said Judge Kathleen O'Connor.

O'Connor handed down the maximum sentence despite a Yuba County Probation Department recommendation of four years. Among other factors, the report cited Flores-Aguilar's lack of a criminal record — except for twice entering the U.S. illegally — and his sending $100 to $300 per month to Mexico to support four of his five children.

The felony conviction, in addition to the broken leg and ribs he suffered in the accident, could limit his future employment chances, the report said.

Flores-Aguilar admitted drinking and driving on a number of previous occasions but said he thought he'd never be caught. On the day of the accident, he didn't feel drunk and didn't realize he was driving on the wrong side of the road, the report said.

Flores-Aguilar's son had warned him about driving drunk and saw him drinking from a can of beer shortly before the accident. On the ground next to Flores-Aguilar's car were six or seven empty cans, according to the report.

In a Feb. 12 interview with a probation official, Flores-Aguilar apologized to Woodruff's family and said he hoped she is with God.

In her statement, Lee said she was "completely shocked" by the proposed four-year sentence.

"Danielle's life and contributions is worth so much more than a lesser sentence given to a man who took more from society than he will ever be able to give back," Lee said.

O'Connor ordered Flores-Aguilar to pay Lee restitution of $26,519, including doctor and funeral expenses and more than $19,000 for a Reach medical helicopter that was called to the accident scene.

The helicopter ended up not transporting Woodruff, who was taken by ambulance to Rideout Memorial Hospital in Marysville, where she died about 45 minutes after the accident, according to the Yuba-Sutter office of the California Highway Patrol.

Payments to Lee will be deducted from Flores-Aguilar's prison wages.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Rob Young at 749-4710 or at ryoung@appealdemocrat.com.