Del Mar

A Bakersfield man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday for causing a fiery freeway collision that killed an Oceanside woman and injured five other people.

Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Nay Zumwalt imposed the maximum term possible on Dino Hernandez, 24, who was under the influence of PCP when he ran into the back of another vehicle at 100 m.p.h. on Interstate 5 in Del Mar. Hernandez also was ordered to pay $10,000 restitution to the victims of the June 20 two-car accident.

The car that was struck burst into flames upon impact. The driver, Bonnie Cahill, 29, died when she was trapped inside the burning vehicle.

The most severely injured of the other five passengers was 8-year-old Emily Mountain, whose head and hands remain wrapped in special bandages to help prevent scarring of the third-degree burns she received.

“With the grace of God and the skill of surgeons, Emily may be able to bend her fingers again, but it’s not likely,” her father, John Mountain, said in urging Zumwalt to impose the maximum sentence.

“Every day starts with Mom or Dad bending Emily’s fingers (to help growing skin tissue), and it hurts her like hell. We’ve told an 8-year-old that life isn’t always fair . . . but this one has endured so much, and there’s so much more for her to go through.”

Cahill’s sister, Tina, who suffered a fractured pelvis in the accident, and her parents, who weren’t in the car, also urged Zumwalt to impose the harshest sentence possible.

“I’m angry and confused about the death of my daughter,” John Cahill, a retired colonel in the Marine Corps, told Zumwalt. “In 35 years in the Marines, including combat in three wars, I’ve never been affected like this. I have no remorse for Mr. Hernandez. He should be put away for the maximum 10 years.”

Defense attorney Richard Spalding argued for a lesser sentence, saying Hernandez now realizes how big a mistake it was for him to get behind the wheel while under the influence of PCP, marijuana and beer.