CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : OAKLAND : Driver Gets 4 Years in Death of 2 Girls

Michael Brandon, 22, was sentenced to four years in state prison and fined $10,000 Friday for driving his car into a group of elementary school children, killing two of them. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Stanley Golde handed down the sentence in a negotiated settlement after Brandon pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular manslaughter in connection with the July 12, 1988, accident. Brandon was driving at more than 50 m.p.h. when he hit the children in a crosswalk at Hawthorne Elementary School in East Oakland. Killed were Rene Zuniga, 10, and her 8-year-old cousin, Karla Rosales. Brandon was given credit for 1 1/2 years he has already spent behind bars and will be eligible for parole later this year. Judge Golde during the trial dropped murder charges as inappropriate on technical legal grounds, saying there was no conscious disregard for life displayed by Brandon, a crucial element for second-degree murder.