GREENFIELD — Greenfield resident Andres Espinoza, 21, was sentenced to four years in state prison on July 27 for last year’s collision that resulted in the death of victim Norbert Azevedo Jr.
“The victim’s wife, siblings and two young children gave impact statements to the court explaining how the victim’s death had devastated their family,” according to Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni in a news release.
The four-year sentence was the maximum sentence available to the court due to new legislation that took effect Jan. 1, 2022, that directs the court’s discretion to impose lesser sentences for youthful offenders.
On June 25, 2022, just after 3 a.m., Espinoza was driving a Subaru WRX sedan at speeds exceeding 90 mph northbound on Highway 101, just north of Main Street in Salinas. Due to his level of intoxication, Espinoza rear ended Azevedo’s Dodge Ram 2500, sending the pickup out of control and overturning off the side of the highway.
Azevedo, who had been on his way to work at the time of the collision, died at the scene.
Espinoza fled the scene of the crash and was contacted several hours later by California Highway Patrol officers at his home in Greenfield. He admitted to driving his vehicle earlier that morning and colliding with something on the highway in Salinas but denied knowing he had hit another vehicle.
A breath alcohol test revealed that Espinoza had a blood alcohol concentration of .08.
