A man who drove under the influence the wrong way on Interstate 805 in San Ysidro and plowed into another vehicle, killing the other driver, was sentenced this week to more than six years in state prison.
Fernando Goneortiz, 29, pleaded guilty to the July 26, 2023, crash that killed 57-year-old Abel Bermudez Griego, a Los Angeles resident and father of six.
The crash happened just before noon, with Goneortiz’s Audi traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of traffic, near East San Ysidro Boulevard.
The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said the Audi crashed head-on into a minivan in the No. 2 lane. The minivan driver, Bermudez Griego, died at the scene. Goneortiz was hospitalized for injuries sustained in the crash and was later arrested.
Goneortiz was sentenced Thursday in Chula Vista Superior Court to six years for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, plus six months for a misdemeanor count of driving on the wrong side of the freeway.
A GoFundMe page created to raise funds for the victim’s family stated that Bermudez Griego had been traveling to Ensenada that weekend to visit his mother. His six children ranged in age from 10 to 40 years old at the time of his death, according to the page.
–City News Service