Man Sentenced in El Monte, California Street Racing Car Accident

An El Monte man has been sentenced to one year in county jail and five
years on probation for his role in a street racing related car
accident last year in which his friend was killed and the passenger in
the other car seriously injured.

In October 2007, 19-year-old Fitzgerald Paragas had been racing with
his friend 18-year-old Brian Ramirez. Just prior to that, they had
been watching the street racing movie "The Fast and the Furious"
and decided to have a race of their own. As the two continued to race
on the streets, Brian lost control of his car. His Mitsubishi careened
across the median and into incoming traffic. A Volkswagen Jetta
carrying the Saavedra family was coming in the opposite direction, and
the Mitsubishi crashed into it. Ramirez was killed instantly, while
the Saavedra family suffered serious injuries. At the time of the
crash [1], Ramirez's vehicle was apparently going at 90 mph.

After the crash [2], Paragas tried to mislead police into believing
that he had not been part of the car accident at all. His initial
claim was that he was at home at the time of the car crash [3], and
had received a call from Ramirez who said he would be coming over.
After waiting for an hour, when there was still no sign of his friend,
Paragas told police he had driven off to take a look. It was then that
he came upon the car crash [4] site where his friend was killed. Later
however, Paragas broke down, and admitted that he had been racing too.

He was charged with one felony count of murder with the special
allegation of causing great bodily injury, one felony count of
vehicular manslaughter and four counts of felony reckless driving
causing injury, as well as misdemeanor street racing. A judge has now
sentenced him to one year in county jail. He will also be required to
pay restitution to the Saavedra family, a $100 court security fee and
a $20 restitution fee. He is also prohibited from driving while under
probation, and will have to participate in a safe driving program. He
will also be required to educate high school students on safe driving
as part of his sentence. The judge admitted that Paragas' lack of a
prior criminal record and letters written to the judge by the young
man's school teachers had led to what can only be called a light
sentence.

The district attorney asked the judge to impose a four-year prison
sentence to be suspended. If Paragas violates the terms of his
probation, he would have to serve time in jail. Paragas was facing a
maximum of eight years and eight months, and the prosecution had asked
for a sentence of four years to six years.

Street racing can be either spontaneous races, like the one that seems
to have taken place here, or coordinated races that are planned ahead
of time. In either case, they can cause serious injuries and
fatalities. With the high speeds that are the norm during such races,
many motorists' lives are endangered simply because they were
unlucky enough to be around the scene when a race was on. Considering
the gravity of Paragas' action and the death that it resulted in, a
stiffer sentence would have given out a stronger message to would-be
street racers.

The Reeves Law Group is a California law firm of dedicated
California Accident Lawyers & Personal Injury Attorneys. Need a
California Auto Accident Injury Lawyer, Car Accident Attorney, or a
California Motorcycle Accident Lawyer? Call (800) 644-8000 for a free
consultation.

Links:
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[1] http://caraccidentsus.info/tag/crash/
[2] http://caraccidentsus.info/tag/crash/
[3] http://caraccidentsus.info/tag/crash/
[4] http://caraccidentsus.info/tag/crash/