Fresno County DUI crash: Man gets 6 years in prison for death of girlfriend and mother of five

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The family of a woman killed in a DUI-related crash spoke out after the man behind the wheel was sentenced to six years in prison.

Anna Rodriguez died last year when the car she was riding in crashed in Fresno County.

Her boyfriend and driver Edwin Sebastian pleaded no contest to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

Under the circumstances six years was the maximum sentence Sebastian could receive but the family says that's not enough.

Rodriguez leaves behind five children.

With an interpreter by his side, Sebastian listened as her family members made an emotional plea to the judge for the maximum sentence.

"No matter how much time the defendant gets, we'll never get our mom back and we will never get answers why he decided to do this to us."

Sebastian, who was eligible for probation, pleaded no contest to gross vehicular manslaughter while drunk back in July.

On Thursday he showed little emotion as the judge gave him six years in prison for the crash that killed his 39-year-old girlfriend and mother of five.

The judge acknowledged the sentence was not stiff enough and explained to the family why he couldn't send Sebastian to prison for a longer term

"All I can do is sentence somebody in the parameters of California Law. I agree with you that the law isn't sufficient but that's what we got here in California," said Judge Jon Kapetan.

Rodriguez was killed while sitting in the passenger's seat of Sebastian's car on December 31, 2018.

The two were headed home to Selma after a night of dancing with family and friends in Fresno.

CHP says that at about 2 a.m. he lost control of the vehicle and hit the median near Golden State and American, flew into the air, then landed upside down.

According to family members, the couple were offered a ride home with a sober driver that night but Sebastian refused.

"If he would've got that ride from us I think my friend would still be here," said Natalie Bonilla, the victim's friend.

The judge, in this case, said Sebastian was not suitable for probation since he was already convicted of another DUI charge just 30 days prior to the fatal crash.