Last Updated on June 21, 2021 by CCAR Staff
BANNING — A 25-year-old San Jacinto woman who killed a senior as a result of her drinking and driving has been sentenced to a year in jail and five years felony probation.
Angelica Hauste pleaded guilty last month to DUI gross vehicular manslaughter with a sentence-enhancing great bodily injury allegation for the 2018 death of 72-year-old Richard Thomas of Yucaipa.
Hauste’s plea was directly to Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jorge Hernandez, without input from the District Attorney’s Office. Hernandez exercised his own discretion in determining the sentencing terms.
In addition to the jail time and probation, the judge on Thursday ordered the defendant to pay restitution to the victim’s family, though the exact amount has yet to be determined by the Department of Probation.
According to sheriff’s officials, the deadly crash happened about 4 a.m. on Oct. 27, 2018, at the intersection of Ramona Expressway and State Street in San Jacinto.
Sgt. Bryan DeLoss said that Hauste was eastbound on the expressway in her 2017 Toyota Corolla when Thomas entered the intersection — on a green traffic signal — in his 2004 Chrysler Sebring and initiated a left turn onto the expressway from northbound State.
The Corolla slammed into the driver’s side of Thomas’ vehicle, DeLoss said. The victim died a short time later at Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley.
DeLoss alleged that the defendant, who was not injured in the crash, “displayed obvious signs” of being under the influence of alcohol and was arrested at the scene.
Hauste posted bail and was released from jail, and the case was investigated for over a year before she was charged.
Hauste had no prior felony or misdemeanor convictions.
