SAN DIEGO — Suspect arrested in double-fatal hit-and-run crash in Bay Terraces neighborhood
Sisters Elizabeth and Jazmin Cano had no chance to survive.
Their injuries from the crash were too severe. Danna Moreno was also in the car and suffered a collapsed lung, liver damage, and still has no sensation in her right hand.
“Every breath I took hurt because I was choking on my own blood,” Danna said fighting back tears in court Monday afternoon.
She gathered the courage to speak at the sentencing for Tony Garcia who, on May 14, 2023, went out drinking, got behind the wheel of his truck and slammed into their car.
“Yes, I am alive, but the bodily injuries you caused me isn't the only pain I suffer through on a daily basis,” she said to Garcia in court. “The survivors guilt I feel every day from me still having PTSD for the accident and that's not a life if you ask me.”
Garcia's truck ran a red light and broadsided the Honda Civic with the three women inside.
Elizabeth, a 25-year-old mother of two, had just found out she and her husband were expecting another child. Jazmin was just 23. Instead of staying to help the victims, Garcia ran away.
“I really want to ask you a question that's been hurting me... is to know why you took off and left me unable to breathe and my friends agonizing,” Danna said.
Garcia later turned himself in and eventually pled guilty to vehicular manslaughter and hit and run. But to this day, he has not apologized to the victims. And when offered a chance in court, Garcia, thought his attorney, declined. That did not sit well with Judge Polly Shamoon.
“You can't even say I'm sorry to a mother who lost two daughters,” Judge Shamoon said while staring at Garcia. “You can't say I'm sorry to young girls that will never have a mother. You can't say I'm sorry to a husband or boyfriend who will never have their loved ones again.”
Because of a plea deal, Garcia was sentenced to 14 years 8 months in state prison.
Elizabeth and Jazmin’s friends and family made it clear outside of court that they did not think the punishment provided justice and said Garcia should spend a lot more time behind bars.
WATCH RELATED: Suspect arrested in double-fatal hit-and-run crash in Bay Terraces neighborhood