SAN ANTONIO – A woman who fatally struck a man while she was driving with a blood-alcohol content twice the legal limit has been sentenced to prison.
Blanca Torres, 42, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Wednesday for the intoxication manslaughter of Mauricio Rodriguez Zuniga, 26.
Zuniga was struck on Oct. 16, 2018, while standing on the shoulder of Loop 410 near Vance Jackson Road.
After the incident, San Antonio police said that Zuniga was towing a Pontiac Grand Am with a Mitsubishi Lancer and had car trouble.
While he was tending to his car, Torres drove on the shoulder and hit him with her Nissan Sentra, authorities said.
He was thrown several feet due to the impact. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
Torres was taken into custody at the scene and her blood alcohol content level was .017, which is more than twice the legal limit in Texas, the District Attorney’s Office said.
“During the punishment hearing, Torres admitted to continuing to drink after getting treatment from several sources,” the DA’s office said. “She was also demoted at work for drinking on the job. Torres also expressed her remorse to the family.”
Zuniga’s mother, Blanca Castaneda, previously told KSAT that had two children. He had also just turned his life around, Casteneda said, adding that he was working two jobs and left drugs behind.
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