A Fresno County man was sentenced Monday to 15 years to life in prison for second-degree murder in a deadly wrong-way crash that killed a 22-year-old man near Mendota in 2022.

Gilberto Santiago-Castro, 30, of Mendota, received the sentence from Judge Brian Alvarez after pleading guilty on May 21, 2025, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office announced.

Authorities say the crash happened around 3 a.m. on Oct. 3, 2022, when Santiago-Castro drove his Chevy Equinox into oncoming traffic on State Route 33, colliding head-on with a Toyota Corolla driven by Benedo Alfaro-Vasquez, 22, of Mendota, who died at the scene.

The California Highway Patrol determined Santiago-Castro’s blood alcohol level was 0.14% — nearly twice the legal limit — and that he had been traveling 86 mph.

Dashcam footage showed he had been driving in the wrong lane for nearly a minute.

He had prior DUI convictions in 2018 and 2021 and was on probation at the time of the crash.

Santiago-Castro had previously received a “Watson Advisement,” warning him that driving under the influence could lead to a murder charge if it resulted in someone’s death.

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