13 July 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — An Oceanside, California, man was sentenced by a judge on Thursday for a fatal DUI crash in Sedgwick County in September 2020.
Gabriel Ortiz was sentenced to 43 months in the custody of the Department of Corrections. When he is released, he will have 36 months of supervised probation.
Ortiz pleaded guilty on May 30, 2023, to involuntary manslaughter and two counts of aggravated battery; DUI.
The crash happened on Sept. 5, 2020, around 2:15 a.m., near the intersection of Hoover and MacArthur Road. Investigators said at the time, Ortiz was driving on MacArthur Road when he veered off the road, over-corrected and hit a van head-on.
At the time, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office told KSN that the drivers of both vehicles and their passengers went to the hospital with serious to critical injuries.
Sonia Lopez, 55, a passenger in the van, died from her injuries.
In January 2022, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office extradition unit members arrested Ortiz at the San Diego, California County Jail and transported him to the Sedgwick County Jail. He was charged later that month.