Victim's Family Says Drunk Driving Penalties Aren't Harsh Enough
PHOENIX, Md. (WJZ) -- Two years after Ashley Roberta was killed in a gruesome drunk driving accident, the judge sentenced the driver to two years behind bars.
As Gigi Barnett explains, the family says the punishment is not enough.
"What's the difference between murder and drunken driving?" said Jan Roberta.
Roberta believes there isn't a difference. She lost her daughter, 22-year-old Ashley Roberta, nearly two years ago in a fatal single-car crash on the George Washington Parkway in Virginia.
This week, Roberta faced the driver in court as the judge sentenced Maria Alejandra Espinoza, 23, to a two-year jail term.
"Every day it seems that I'm waking up in a nightmare and it really didn't happen and then I have to deal with that it really did happen and try to get through the day," Roberta said.
Prosecutors proved Espinoza was behind the wheel of an SUV in the early morning hours of Oct. 13, 2009. She had a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit.
Espinoza somehow lost control of the vehicle. It slammed into a guardrail, split in half and killed Roberta on the spot. DC United soccer player Charlie Davies was in the car, too. The trio had just left a Washington night club.
The Roberta family asked for the maximum penalty against Espinoza. That's about four years, but the judge sentenced her to half that.
Espinoza's attorney, Robert Schwartzman, says his client's court apology to the victim's family was sincere.
Espinoza already owes thousands of dollars in damages to Davies for medical expenses and to the Roberta family.
"I believe that...in spite of what others may have said, that this was typical of her character," Roberta said.
Roberta's family says no amount of punishment to Maria Espinoza can bring Ashley Roberta back, but they plan to seek civil charges against Espinoza.
In addition to the manslaughter conviction, Espinoza also faced DUI charges.
