Tulare teen gets 6 years in prison for deadly DUI crash

TULARE, Calif. (KFSN) -- Family members in Mexico have shared photos of 50-year-old Sandra Luz Parra Cuadras, the innocent victim in a violent crash that happened on Tulare's north side last April.

Prior to the crash, police were pursuing Jace Freitas, then 18.

According to prosecutors, Freitas was driving drunk (he had a .22 blood alcohol level and cocaine in his system) and was going 86 miles per hour when he ran a red light, smashing into a Nissan Altima carrying four people, including Parra Cuadras. She died later that day.

Her daughter wants people to know that her mother was a hard-working woman who always wanted the best for her family and friends.

She says she can't understand why innocent people have to pay for the irresponsibility of others.

"The real message that we're looking to tell people here is when you get behind the wheel of a car and you're intoxicated, you're putting your life at risk," said Tulare County Assistant District Attorney David Alavezos. "You're putting your liberty at risk should you survive the event, but you're putting a lot of innocent people at risk as well. And in this case, an innocent person died."

Before the deadly crash, Freitas did not have a criminal history.

But according to the Tulare County Superior Court, he did rack up seven traffic infractions over a two-year period, including two speeding tickets.

On Wednesday, Freitas came to court out of custody but walked away in handcuffs.

He was sentenced to six years in prison for two felony counts, including vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and hit and run causing death.

Full statement from Karla Barahona Parra, the victim's daughter:

"My mom was a hard-working woman, she was a great human being. Every person that knew her knows what a great person she was. Jace Freitas has no idea of the damage that he caused, we lost our mother and nothing is going to bring her back. Why do innocent people have to pay for the irresponsibility of other's? Six years of sentence is nothing compared to the damage. We will always love our mother and remember her, my family is going thru hard moments, nothing will ever be the same. It's sad how a great and a kind woman got her life taken away."