A Wilmington man who killed two Caltrans workers while driving drunk on the 405 Freeway in 2012 was sentenced to 34 years to life in state prison Friday – the maximum time allowed.
Yocio Jonathan Gomez, 25, was driving his Ford Explorer at 90 mph through a construction zone near the Artesia Boulevard offramp in Torrance around 3:30 a.m. July 22, 2012.
He rear-ended another SUV, which spun out of control, striking and killing Ricardo Zamora, 58, and Ramon Lopez, 56, and injured a third worker, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Gomez was found guilty of two counts each of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and second-degree murder in the deaths of Zamora and Lopez.
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He was also found guilty of one count each of DUI causing injury as a result of the third victim’s injuries. Gomez had previously been convicted of driving under the influence.
He was sentenced to the maximum time allowed under state law.
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At the time of the collision, Gomez had a blood alcohol level of .21 - nearly three times the legal limit. During Gomez’s sentencing in a Torrance courthouse, Judge Steven Van Sicklen listened to testimony from the victims’ families.
He had just left a gathering where friends asked him not to drive, prosecutors said.
