BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A man who drank then allegedly drove twice the speed limit before crashing into another vehicle, killing its driver, pleaded no contest Friday to two charges in exchange for a six-year prison term.
Alexzander Pacheco pleaded no contest to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and carrying a concealed firearm in public and is scheduled for sentencing March 15. The gross vehicular manslaughter charge will count as a “strike” offense.
Two DUI-related charges and infractions for running a red light and traveling at an unsafe speed were dismissed under the plea agreement. The firearm charge stems from a handgun discovered when emergency personnel removed Pacheco’s boots.
The crash happened at 2:56 a.m. on July 1 at the intersection of Belle Terrace and South H Street. Police found a green Honda Civic with major front end damage facing southeast in the northbound left turn lane, and a silver Honda Civic, its passenger side smashed, in a parking lot on the southeast corner.
Jaime Herrera Garcia, 36, the driver of the silver car, was taken to Kern Medical. A doctor reported Garcia had skull fractures, bleeding on the brain, damage to a carotid artery that caused a “severe stroke,” and other injuries, according to testimony at a preliminary hearing. He died after being removed from a ventilator July 10.
Pacheco had been driving the green Honda. Police calculated the car’s speed about 69 mph at the time of the crash, according to testimony. The posted speed limit is 35 mph.
Pacheco admitted drinking three beers before getting behind the wheel, but a review of surveillance video at Lengthwise The Pub on Calloway Drive showed he ordered and drank four Zeus beers over a period of several hours, an officer testified at the preliminary hearing. Then Pacheco went to Santiago’s Restaurant and drank more, according to testimony.
Prosecutor Tara Deal has said tests indicated Pacheco had a blood-alcohol content of 0.12%. The state’s legal driving limit is 0.08%.
