VISTA, Calif. (CNS) - A woman who prosecutors said drove drunk on a Vista freeway just before two of her children were fatally struck by another driver was sentenced Tuesday to three years and four months in state prison.
Sandra Ortiz, 34, was arrested following the Father's Day 2023 deaths of her 10-year-old son, Alan, and her 16-year-old daughter, Amy.
“I’m just asking you, I’m begging you, Judge, give me a chance,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz's mother-in-law, the children's grandmother, appeared in court to support Ortiz. With the help of a translator, she asked the judge to give Ortiz a second chance for the sake of her other children.
"We need her ... I don’t want the other children's lives to be ruined. They need their mother very much," she said.
Police said that after a piece of luggage fell from their vehicle, Ortiz pulled the car over to the side of state Route 78.
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The children then entered the freeway in order to retrieve it and were struck by an oncoming vehicle, police said. Ortiz and four of her other children were in the car when the fatal crash happened.
Prosecutors alleged Ortiz had a blood-alcohol-level of 0.14% two hours after the crash and also lacked a valid driver's license at the time. It remains unclear what prompted the children to enter the freeway lanes.
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She pleaded guilty to child endangerment and DUI counts and faced a possible sentence ranging from probation to over 10 years in prison at Tuesday's sentencing.
