A Santa Cruz County judge sentenced a Hollister woman Wednesday
to 14 years in prison for her involvement in the drunken-driving
crash that killed her 4-year-old daughter.
Santa Cruz – A Santa Cruz County judge sentenced a Hollister woman Wednesday to 14 years in prison for her involvement in the drunken-driving crash that killed her 4-year-old daughter.
Antoinette Soliz, 26, won’t be eligible for parole until she has served more than 11 years of her sentence, authorities said. In June, Soliz pleaded guilty to nine felony charges, including vehicular manslaughter.
Judge Samuel Stevens’ ruling came after a morning of emotional and sometimes heated testimony. Soliz’s friends and family asked the judge to be lenient, while other speakers said Soliz should serve “the longest sentence possible.”
The last speaker was Soliz herself, who said there was “no excuse” for her behavior.
“I can’t sleep at night, and when I do I have nightmares,” she said. “My heart aches every day I am away from my children.”
On Jan. 29, Soliz drove a 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe that crashed into a guardrail on Highway 1 near Aptos. The Chevrolet flipped several times, killing Soliz’s daughter, Jasmine Arroyo, and seriously injuring the two adults and five other children in the vehicle. Among the children were Soliz’s two sons.
Soliz’s blood-alcohol concentration was 0.22 percent, nearly three times the legal limit, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Jasmine Arroyo’s father, Osvaldo Arroyo, spoke against Soliz and emphasized the pain and helplessness he had felt after his daughter’s death.
“I know you have to live with this every second of every day of your life, but so do we,” Arroyo said.
As he walked out of the courtroom, Arroyo was confronted by members of Soliz’s family, and the conversation became heated. Several audience members got to their feet, but the judge called a recess before the confrontation went any further.
When court resumed, Stevens asked attendees to focus on being constructive despite the difficult circumstances.
“This is bad stuff,” he said. “You can’t even count the number of victims in this case.”
Soliz’s grandmother, Margie Balderamma, told Stevens that her granddaughter is already being punished by her feelings of guilt.
“Please have mercy on Antoinette,” Balderamma said. “There are other ways of punishing her.”
But Elizabeth Arroyo, Osvaldo’s sister, said Soliz deserves to be incarcerated for as long as possible. Like Osvaldo Arroyo, Elizabeth spoke directly to Soliz.
“Jasmine was an innocent child and so full of life,” she said. “You destroyed that in an instant when you decided to drink and drive.”
Soliz responded to Elizabeth Arroyo in her own statement, turning to Arroyo and declaring, “I grieve every night for my daughter, every day.”
Legally, Soliz’s sentence could have been as lenient as probation with no jail time or as harsh as more than 37 years in prison, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Ariadne Symons. But Symons and Soliz’s attorney, Wesley Schroeder, both said the judge made a fair decision.
Symons added that despite ostensibly “winning” the case, she didn’t feel victorious.
“I’m not sure justice is ever defined by winning,” she said. “You have to understand that it starts with a tragedy.”
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or
ah*@fr***********.com
.
