Sacramento County man gets 188 years to life for 2023 DUI crash that killed 5

A man convicted in a 2023 DUI crash that killed five passengers along River Road in Sacramento County has been sentenced to 188 years to life in prison.

Cameron Garcia was sentenced Friday, nearly two months after a jury convicted him of five counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and carjacking, the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office said.

The crash happened Feb. 9, 2023, along River Road just south of the Freeport Bridge.

Prosecutors said Garcia had spent the day drinking by the Sacramento River before getting behind the wheel with five passengers.

As the road curved, Garcia went down an embankment and hit a tree at 101 mph, according to the district attorney's office. Prosecutors said the accelerator was applied and the brakes were not before the crash.

The impact tore away the entire right side and most of the roof of the vehicle, ejecting all five passengers.

Monte Nunn, 29; Faith Samuel, 18; Izabelle Salaz-Stephens, 19; Curvontay Swygert, 16; and Aahliya Garcia, 17, all died at the scene. Garcia survived with multiple injuries.

As people began arriving at the crash scene, prosecutors said Garcia tried to take several vehicles before getting into a woman's car and pushing her out of the driver's seat. He then drove toward Elk Grove, where authorities chased him with patrol vehicles and helicopters.

Garcia crashed the stolen vehicle into another car, tried to take another vehicle and then ran into a neighborhood before officers arrested him, prosecutors said.

A blood test taken about an hour and a half after the crash showed Garcia had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.11%, according to the district attorney's office. Tests also detected active marijuana in his system.