A 25-year-old Fresno man was sentenced to nine years in state prison after pleading guilty to child abuse and driving under the influence in a Monterey County crash that left his 6-year-old son paralyzed in February, the county District Attorney’s Office said.
Daniel Santos was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to one count of felony child abuse with a paralysis enhancement and one count of felony driving under the influence causing injury with a paralysis enhancement.
The convictions also count as a strike under California’s Three Strikes Law, prosecutors said.
The charges stem from a Feb. 22 crash on state Highway 156, where California Highway Patrol officers found an SUV that had struck a tree. Inside the SUV were two adults and two children, ages 6 years and 8 months.
Authorities said officers smelled alcohol on Santos and that he admitted drinking tequila before driving. A breath test measured his blood alcohol content at 0.09%, above California’s legal limit of 0.08%.
Santos had previously been convicted of reckless driving involving alcohol in 2020, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The crash left Santos’ 6-year-old son with paralysis in his legs and other serious internal injuries, according to authorities. His 8-month-old daughter was not seriously injured.