SALEM, Ore. — A man convicted of driving drunk and causing the crash that killed five family members near Salem was sentenced to 34 years in prison.
The Statesman Journal reports Favian Garcia of Gervais was sentenced Monday. He was arrested Oct. 8, 2017, after he crashed a Land Rover head-on into a Buick Century driven by 25-year-old Lisette Medrano-Perez on Highway 99E.
Medrano-Perez of Molalla was driving to Salem to get haircuts for sons 8-year-old Ivan Ricardo Medrano-Contreras and 6-year-old Andrus Medrano-Contreras. Dayanara Medrano-Perez, who was 4, and Medrano-Perez's 2-year-old niece Angelina Vazquez-Crisp were with them.
Garcia crossed the center line and crashed head-on into Medrano-Perez. All five died at the scene.
Investigators determined Garcia had a blood-alcohol level of almost four times the legal limit.
A judge in November found Garcia guilty of five counts of manslaughter, DUI, reckless driving and criminal driving with a suspended license.
Court records show Garcia was convicted of driving under the influence of intoxicants in 2011 and convicted of the same crime again months before the fatal crash.
