Woman drives home with corpse of man who landed in passenger seat after he smashed through windscreen in drunk-driving crash
A woman was sentenced to 15 years in prison after a court heard that she drove home with the dead body of a crash victim wedged in the passenger seat through the windshield.
According to reports, 31-year-old Esteysi 'Stacy' Sanchez, who was drunk and driving, hit 69-year-old Jack Tenhulzen with such great impact that he smashed through the windshield, and his foot severed and ended up near the rear window. The accident happened on a pathway near the state Route 76 bridge on the morning of June 27, 2016
Sanchez drove the car for more than a mile to her home after the crash on Oceanside, San Diego, and her neighbors were extremely shocked at the sight of the wrecked car with the mutilated corpse smashed through the windshield. According to evidence which was heard in court, Sanchez proceeded to walk to her house and also change her clothes.
On Wednesday, she was convicted of second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter, and hit-and-run which resulted in the death of Tenhulzen.
According to Fox 5, Sanchez was sobbing as she was sentenced.
The court heard that she had been drinking all night long and was on her way home when she rammed into the unfortunate victim at around 6 am. Her lawyer begged for leniency but she got 15 years to life in state prison.
Just before Stacy was sentenced, the victim's niece Lisa Francisco described her loving uncle and told Sanchez how she had broken her heart. During the hearing, there was a point when the defendant was close to collapsing as she cried and eventually said: "I'm sorry". Deputy District Attorney Robert Bruce told the jurors that Sanchez had shown a conscious disregard and disrespect for human life.
Bruce explained the victim crashed through the windshield and landed in the passenger seat of the car. It was also reported that one of his legs were so severed as a result of the horrific accident that it was found at the back of the car near the rear window.
Sanchez was advised by a male friend not to drive as she was too drunk but clearly, she did not pay any heed to that advise. Defense attorney Herb Watson attempted to argue that Sanchez was very tired and fell asleep at the wheel which resulted in the accident. He also explained that Sanchez totally "freaked out" when she saw the body and continued to drive until she stopped a block from her house.
When she was taken into custody, she reportedly still had shards of glass in her hair. Her blood-alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit of .08 percent, two hours after the collision, Bruce said.