Driver Gets 50 Years to Life in Fatal Crash
A Superior Court judge sentenced a Granada Hills man to 50 years to life in prison Thursday for a deadly traffic collision that nearly wiped out an entire family.
Daniel John O’Hare, 28, was convicted earlier this month of the second-degree murders of Ernesto and Ana Luz Medina and their son Carlos, 11. The only survivor of the August 1995 crash was daughter Yesenia, now 8.
A jury also found O’Hare guilty of evading arrest, driving under the influence, possession of a controlled substance, driving a stolen car and leaving the scene of an accident.
“This is obviously a serious tragedy for everyone concerned,” said defense attorney Stephen A. DeSales. “But the sentence should have been for manslaughter and felony drunk driving.”
But Deputy Dist. Atty. Burt Schneirow, who had asked for a 55-year minimum, disagreed. ‘It was a fair sentence in accordance with the jury’s verdict,” he said.
Authorities said O’Hare will serve a minimum of 40 years.
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