After a jury convicted a then-21-year-old man of two counts of murder in the second degree, two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and one count each of driving under the influence (DUI) of drugs and/or alcohol causing injury, and driving on the wrong side of a highway, a judge sentenced him to 32 years in prison.
On the night of April 25, 2022, the defendant was behind the wheel of a 2020 Subaru WRX. Starting on the stretch of undulating east-west California State Route 74 known as the Ortega Highway in Riverside County, he drove recklessly on U.S. Interstate 5. The car sped on through Orange County, and, finally, into San Diego County. The car reached speeds of nearly 140 mph, while the defendant was under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, Xanax and, eventually, mushrooms.
The Subaru d plowed through a metal guard rail along Torrey Pines State Beach in San Diego. Joshua Manzanares, 19, and Johnny Punzalan, 19, were both ejected from the car. They died at the scene. The defendant and two other passengers suffered grievous injuries but survived.
“You clearly didn’t care to risk the lives of people you considered to be your friends,” one of Manzanares’ sisters said, addressing the defendant. “They trusted you and you failed them.”
San Diego Superior Court Judge Lisa Rodriguez cited the extreme recklessness of the defendant’s inebriated driving, and the concomitant disregard for human life it evidenced, when ruling in favor of the state and declining the defense’s requests for leniency.
The defendant issued the following apology: “I know my words probably don’t mean much to you guys, but I’m very sorry,” he said. “I know I can’t compare to the loss that you guys suffered, but I do suffer the loss of my friends too. I know I shouldn’t have been doing the things I was doing when it happened and I really do think about that every day.”