Man Sentenced in Fatal Freeway Crash
A 19-year-old Lancaster man was sentenced Tuesday to four years in state prison for a drunk driving accident in which his best friend was killed.
Joe Artiga had a blood-alcohol level of 0.1% when his car collided head-on with another vehicle on the Antelope Valley Freeway on March 19, 1989, according to court records.
Artiga’s passenger and best friend, Marcus Alphonso Williams, died at the scene. The driver of the other car, Nadine Scott, survived but suffered major injuries. She was confined to a wheelchair for three months after the crash.
Artiga pleaded guilty on Dec. 11 in San Fernando Superior Court to one charge of vehicular manslaughter and one charge of driving while intoxicated.
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