‘I hold you responsible for his death:’ Uber Eats driver sentenced in crash that killed pedestrian
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — An Uber Eats delivery driver who pleaded no contest to driving drunk when he hit and fatally injured a pedestrian was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison.
Mao Arias, 48, told police he was making a delivery and checking his cellphone GPS early Sept. 17 in northwest Bakersfield when he hit Anthony Mendez, 25.
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Mendez was taken to Kern Medical, where he was later pronounced dead.
His family addressed Arias in court before sentencing, telling him they hope he feels remorse and will never drive drunk again.
“You chose to get behind the wheel knowing you had been drinking,” said Mendez’s grandmother, Maria Plaza, speaking through tears. “I hold you responsible for his death.”
Mendez leaves behind many who loved him, including a son, now 4, who can’t comprehend never seeing his father again, she said.
The child keeps asking, “My daddy is in heaven with Jesus, when is he coming back?” Plaza said.
Emily Mendez, Mendez’s younger sister, struggled to speak as she described how close she and her brother were. She can’t stop thinking about their last moments together.
“That night will play over and over in my head, his last words to me, his last hug,” she said.
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Arias performed poorly on field sobriety tests administered by police after the crash on Meacham Road east of Calloway Drive, according to court documents. A breath test revealed his blood-alcohol content was 0.12%, above the legal driving limit of 0.08%.
He told police he drank two 12-oz. Modelo beers about seven hours earlier.
Video analysis revealed Arias’ Toyota Scion was traveling 59 mph just before impact, police said in the documents. The posted speed limit is 35 mph.
Last month, Arias pleaded no contest to DUI vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence. Two felony DUI counts were dismissed.
Plaza said her grandson did nothing wrong. He was simply out for a jog.
“(Mendez) was not at fault,” she said in court. “He died because an irresponsible person chose to drive while drinking.”
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