Hit-and-Run Driver Gets 6-Year Term

PASADENA — A man who pleaded no contest in a hit-and-run accident that killed the mother of six children and injured a good Samaritan who was trying to help her was sentenced to six years in prison Wednesday.

Rafael Claro-Miranda, 35, pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Teri Schwartz imposed the sentence, which he said was “appropriate in light of the charges.”

Schwartz had rejected an earlier deal proposed by prosecutors that would have sent Claro-Miranda to prison for just two years--a deal denounced by victims and relatives.

Claro-Miranda faced a maximum sentence of 7 1/2 years, said Craig Mitchell, the deputy district attorney prosecuting the case.

“I feel that Mr. Miranda is coming out of this better than any of his victims,” Mitchell said.

On May 16, Sharon McPherson’s car ran out of fuel in Burbank and a nearby resident, Agustin Luz, volunteered to help McPherson get gas. As the two were filling the car with gas, they were struck by Claro-Miranda’s brown Chevrolet Camaro, according to prosecutors.

McPherson was killed instantly, in front of three of her six children. Luz was critically injured and remains in a wheelchair recovering from his numerous surgeries and injuries.

Claro-Miranda was employed as a cook at the time of the incident.

Albert Sierra, Claro-Miranda’s lawyer, declined comment.

Although neither McPherson’s family nor Luz’s family appeared in court Wednesday, members of both have said six years, or even 7 1/2 years, is not a harsh-enough sentence.

“Why so little time for so much pain?” Luz asked recently.

Suzi Rucker, 18, the second-oldest of McPherson’s six children and the family’s unofficial spokeswoman, said Claro-Miranda showed little respect for others and should be treated accordingly.

Sierra, the defense attorney, had argued a two-year sentence was enough because his client has no criminal record.

Det. Paul Orlowski, a Burbank Police Department investigator who worked on the case, said the plea agreement was acceptable because “it spared the families from having to attend the trial.”