Woman gets 4 years in prison for fatal DUI crash in Riverside in 2018

Last Updated on December 3, 2020 by CCAR Staff

RIVERSIDE — A 21-year-old woman who killed another motorist in a drugged driving crash in Riverside has been sentenced to four years in state prison.

Brenda Baker Phansukhumthana pleaded guilty in October to felony gross vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence causing death and possession of controlled substances. The defendant made her plea directly to Riverside County Superior Court Judge Gail O’Rane, without input from the District Attorney’s Office. She was sentenced Tuesday.

The defendant was driving on Central Avenue, just east of Montclair Drive, when her sedan collided with the victim’s vehicle in the predawn hours of Oct. 27, 2018. Riverside Fire Department paramedics arrived within a few minutes and pronounced 52-year-old Leonard Flores of Riverside dead at the scene.

Phansukhumthana and her adult female passenger suffered minor injuries but did not require hospitalization.

While patrol officers were questioning the defendant, she gave indications of being under the influence of drugs, culminating in her arrest, Officer Ryan Railsback said.

The defendant had no prior felony or misdemeanor convictions.