BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Just a memory, a song, or a picture can start the tears. Abigail Ali said even the smallest things that remind her of her daughter can make her emotional.
Her daughter, Destiny Maria Muñoz, 21, died after her car crashed into a wooden pole at high speed and split in two. Another passenger, Daniel Armando Encinas Davalos, 33, also died.
February 17, 2021 will remain a dark day in her family’s history, Ali said Wednesday.
“We lost our beautiful souls that day,” she said, pausing every now and then to regain her composure.
Ali spoke at the sentencing hearing for Andrew Orrin Fenderson, the driver of a black BMW 325i that police drove down Ming Street at speeds of 112 to 119 miles per hour before slamming into a pole. It is said that it rushed in. The posted speed limit is 40 mph.
Following Ali’s comments, Fenderson, 21, was sentenced to 14 years and eight months in prison last month after accepting a plea bargain on two counts of vehicular manslaughter for driving under the influence of alcohol. received a verdict. of drugs that cause personal injury and assaults with non-gun lethal weapons.
Fenderson appeared in court in a wheelchair. The accident severely injured him and amputated both of his legs. His third passenger was also seriously injured.
Fenderson apologized to the victim’s family.
“I know I was being selfish. If I could go back to that day and do something to fix what happened, I would,” Fenderson said. “very sorry.”
Munoz’s grandparents, Ali and Blanca, Robert Renteria, spoke out in court about their loss while photos appeared on screen, including one of Munoz holding their infant daughter, Emma. At four years old, Blanca Renteria said it was painful to see Emma’s relationship with her mother cut short.
“Her daughter never has her mother call her ‘mama,'” said Blanca Renteria.
My grandmother said she misses Muñoz’s “love, kisses, goofs” and her beautiful smile. Fenderson will never walk again, said Blanca Renteria, but it was his “pointless decision” that led to his injury and the death of her granddaughter.
According to court documents, the crash split the car into “two large pieces and numerous smaller ones.” Parts were strewn about the crash site.
The wreckage will be used in future presentations of the “A Life Interrupted” program, in which law enforcement and family members of those who died in drunk driving collisions talk to students about the dangers of driving while disabled.
