District Court Judge Michael Vigil  Photo courtesy of Santa Fe Crime
From Santa Fe New Mexican
Nobody who spoke at an emotional court hearing Thursday afternoon wanted 53-year-old Margaret Garcia sent to prison.
Instead, as part of her sentence for vehicular homicide, the single mother and owner of a Santa Fe house-cleaning business will be granted what state District Judge Michael Vigil said is an opportunity to help “wake people up” to the consequences of drunken driving.
Her sentencing was one day shy of the one-year anniversary of the Aug. 10, 2011 crash in which Garcia turned her SUV left from westbound St. Michael’s Drive into the path of 40-year-old Paul Bennett’s eastbound motorcycle. Bennett, who was wearing a helmet when he slammed into the side of the car, was later pronounced dead at nearby Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center.
Garcia reportedly told police following the collision that she had consumed just one glass of wine with a meal earlier in the day. A blood test found Garcia had a blood alcohol content of 0.13, well over the 0.08 level at which a driver legally is presumed to be impaired.
“You have no idea how deeply sorry ….MORE