Driver involved in 2007 fatal wreck is sentenced

YAKIMA, Wash. -- The driver of a pickup that crashed in the Lower Valley nearly three years ago, resulting in the death of a passenger, was sentenced Tuesday to 31 months in prison for vehicular homicide.

Jose Antonio Garcia, 28, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.15 percent, well above the legal limit of 0.8, when he lost control of his Ford F150 on Hanks Road northeast of Grandview on Feb. 3, 2007, according to a Washington State Patrol report filed in charging documents.

Garcia and two passengers, who were all from Prosser, were ejected when Garcia lost control of the quad-cab pickup on a gravel stretch of Hanks Road and the truck rolled over, coming to rest on its top. Gustavo Godinez, who was 24 and riding in the front passenger seat, died a week later of head injuries sustained in the crash.

The state trooper who responded to the crash scene found evidence that the three men had been drinking.

The third occupant, Guillermo Salas-Lozano, told investigators they were on their way to a party in Sunnyside when the crash occurred. Salas-Lozano suffered back and leg injuries but walked to a nearby residence to get help after the crash.

Garcia suffered a head injury and a broken pelvis in the crash. His sentence includes 18 months of community custody after he serves his prison sentence.