Fresno drunk driver sentenced in crash that killed 22-year-old, injured her toddler
A Fresno man who pleaded no contest to driving drunk was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison for killing his girlfriend and injuring her 2-year-old son in a car crash.
Police said Joshua Parker, 34, was speeding in a white SUV east on Belmont Avenue between North Cedar and North Barton avenues when he sideswiped a car and slammed into the back of a parked semi truck. Inside the crumpled SUV was Parker and passengers Mina Serrano and her son.
Serrano, 22, died from her injuries and her son suffered cuts and bruises. Parker, who was also injured in the crash, was arrested and charged with several felonies, including gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI causing injury under a combined influence of alcohol and drugs, and child abuse and endangerment.
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Parker pleaded no contest to the charges as part of a plea agreement with the district attorney’s office. In exchange he would be sentenced to 10 years in prison. Parker was facing the possibility of 22 years in prison if a jury found him guilty of all charges.
Before issuing his sentence Thursday, Judge Jon Kapetan directed prosecutor Bob Whalen to talk with several members of Serrano’s family who were in the courtroom.
“I want to make sure they understand and are OK with what is going to happen,” Kapetan said.
Whalen said the reaction from the family was mixed, with some wanting stronger punishment. Ultimately, what they want is to know the truth of what happened prior to the crash, Whalen said.
Moments before the crash, police said Serrano called her relatives to tell them she and Parker were having problems. Did that have something to do with the crash? Unfortunately, the family wasn’t going to get their answer during a sentencing hearing, Whalen said.
Victim’s young son has nightmares
Serrano’s mother, Iva Romero, remembers Parker promising her that he would always take care of her daughter. But she said he failed and she is left without a daughter while her grandson is struggling to make sense of his mother’s death.
Romero said her grandson, who is now 3, has nightmares about seeing his injured mother after the crash.
“I don’t think he is ever going to recover from this,” she said.
Britney Rocha, Serrano’s sister, had never met Parker and told him she didn’t hate him, but she wanted him to understand what his actions did to rob their family of their loved one.
“Losing Mina was like losing a part of myself,” she said. “I miss her signature smile that would brighten up everyone’s day.”
Parker began to gently cry as he stood next to his attorney, Naser Nekumanesh.
Katherine Melendez, also a sister of Serrano’s, told the judge their lives have been forever changed, especially for Serrano’s son: “We are all traumatized.”
She also reminded Parker of the promise he made to her mother.
“We wish you had kept your word,” Melendez said, “and kept Mina safe.”
