Vanessa Carrillo
Vanessa Carrillo pleaded guilty April 6 to felony hit-and-run and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charges after the court had told her what her sentence would be if she pleaded guilty prior to her plea, according to Assistant District Attorney Carol Shipley.
There is no indication how much time Carrillo will actually spend in jail. Sheriff Adam Christianson will decide that, as new laws dealing with overcrowding in prisons and jails give the sheriff the power to determine how much time she serves, Shipley said.
Shipley said Carrillo’s sentence was not unusual for this time of case, given that she had no prior criminal record before the incident.
“We believe it was an appropriate sentence,” she said.
Carrillo admitted to hitting 27-year-old cyclist, Patrick O’Connor, from behind with her 1999 Toyota while driving westbound on Fulkerth Road, just east of North Blaker Road on Sept. 1, 2010.
According to California Highway Patrol reports at the time, Carrillo continued driving home, but admitted in a 9-1-1 call about an hour later that she thought she had hit a dog. Later, after further questioning, Carrillo divulged to officers that she had stopped in the road after she hit the man’s bicycle and, looking in her rear-view mirror, might have seen a body on the ground.
O’Connor, a tax consultant from Sacramento, was reportedly in training for an Iron Man competition at the time.
"We encourage your online comments in this public forum, but please keep them respectful and constructive. This is not a forum for personal attacks, libelous statements, profanity or racist slurs. Readers may report such inappropriate comments by e-mailing the editor at news@pattersonirrigator.com."
Those who fail to adhere to this policy risk being banned from commenting on this site. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
You will also have all sorts of braggin' rights. When someone is bragging about something they have done, you could always top them by telling the story of how you hit an innocent man, watched him lying in the street, drove around after they took your license, and all you got was the time it spent to appear in court and fake some sympathy. Oh wait, she didn't even do that last part.
It's just become a hittin', killin', runnin', chillin' and no worryin' type of society.
Right now, my list of who I should run over is so long, it's gonna take me a few days to figure out who I am going to run down. I have no record and precedence is set. I am even looking forward to driving without a license.