Rosario Lopez admits to DUI, enhancement and could spend seven
years in prison. In February, she was northbound on Highway 101 at
a high speed in a 2006 Toyota Tundra and struck the pickup truck
Adam Haney was driving from behind, causing it to roll over.
HOLLISTER
A 23-year-old Salinas woman has pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and an enhancement for the Feb. 16 traffic death of a 26-year-old Hollister man, and she will receive a maximum sentence of seven years in state prison.
Rosario Lopez pleaded guilty to DUI with an enhancement of causing great bodily injury for the incident on Highway 101 resulting in Adam Haney’s death, and she is set for sentencing in Monterey County on Wednesday.
Lopez was northbound on Highway 101 at a high speed in a 2006 Toyota Tundra and struck the pickup truck Haney was driving from behind, causing it to roll over. Monterey County Deputy District Attorney Douglas Matheson told the Free Lance she had been “drinking all the way from Santa Barbara and was upset over some kind of breakup.”
Lopez had a 0.14 percent blood-alcohol level afterward, but Matheson was quick to point out that she was not tested for some time and contended she likely had a higher level at the time of the crash.
Matheson explained that her plea has a “stricter penalty” than the original manslaughter charge because it’s considered a violent strike. The violent strike designation means Lopez can get 15 percent credit for good behavior on a seven-year sentence, he said. With the 10-year sentence for manslaughter, she potentially would be eligible for earlier release.
In addition, if Lopez is found guilty of another violent strike, she would be eligible for a “double plus five” designation, which would qualify her for double the maximum sentence for that violent felony, plus an additional five years.
Haney left behind his wife Kara Haney and a 3-year-old son.
For a copy of the letter to the editor Mrs. Haney sent the Free Lance in April, click here.
