Woman gets 3 years, 8 months for death of cyclist in Boyle Heights

A 21-year-old woman who struck a group of cyclists in Boyle Heights while driving intoxicated, leading to the death of one who was dragged several hundred feet by a following car, was sentenced to three years, eight months in prison Tuesday.

Wendy Stephanie Villegas pleaded no contest in March to vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, leaving the scene of an accident and driving under the influence causing injury in the death of 22-year-old Luis “Andy” Garcia.

Prosecutors say Villegas was driving on Sept. 14 when she hit the group of bicyclists.

Garcia was killed after he was dragged for several hundred feet, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. Two other cyclists were injured.

After the collision, Villegas panicked and fled the scene, prosecutors said.

The case has galvanized many bicyclists over the issue of hit-and-run crashes on Los Angeles streets, with many complaining that not enough is being done to protect them on the roads.

When it was announced in court in March, Villegas’ plea deal angered many who knew Garcia, arguing the sentence was too lenient.

“My blood boils just thinking that someone might get away with as little as three years ... for something like this,” Mario Lopez, one of the two cyclists who was injured in the September collision, told KTLA outside the courthouse.

Another friend, Marissa Carrasco, said simply that “justice was not served.”