FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Case # 16NF1182
Date: September 21, 2018
MAN SENTENCED TO EIGHT YEARS IN PRISON FOR VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER AND CAUSING GREAT BODILY INJURY WHILE DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was sentenced yesterday to eight years in state prison for vehicular manslaughter and causing great bodily injury while driving under the influence of alcohol.
| Defendant | Charges | Sentence |
| Steven Gerard Cruz, 34, Cerritos | Found guilty by a jury Aug. 28, 2018 on the following felony counts:
Sentencing Enhancements:
|
Eight years and eight months in state prison |
Circumstances of the Case
- On May 10, 2015, Cruz drove east on Orangethorpe Avenue in Buena Park while under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol content of .11 percent.
- At an intersection, the defendant accelerated through a yellow light and crashed into the driver’s side of a Toyota Avalon.
- John Doe, the driver of the Toyota Avalon, was transported by ambulance to UCI Medical Center where he later died of his injuries.
- Cruz also caused great bodily injury to Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2, who were John Doe’s passengers.
- Buena Park Police Department (BPPD) investigated this case.
At the sentencing, the victim’s daughter read impact statements. She stated, in part, “This is the most painful part for me and my mom, missing my dad…My parents were going to be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary only four days after that but instead, my mom was in the hospital and my dad was in the morgue at the coroner’s office.”
Prosecutor: Senior Deputy District Attorney Daniel Feldman, Homicide Unit