Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Drunk Driver Gets 15 Years to Life for Deadly Fresno Taco Truck Crash
anthony-haddad-1
By Anthony W. Haddad
Published 3 months ago on
June 13, 2024

A Fresno man was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for a fatal DUI crash that killed one person and injured another after he drove into a taco truck. (GV Wire Composite/Paul Marshall)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Rolando Enrique Alvarenga-Aguilar, 48, of Fresno, was sentenced on Wednesday to 15 years to life in state prison for murder, driving under the influence causing injury, and hit and run, following a fatal crash on Oct. 9, 2021.

Judge Geoffrey D. Wilson of the Fresno County Superior Court handed down the sentence after Alvarenga-Aguilar pleaded no contest to the charges on May 14.

The crash resulted in the death of 60-year-old Sabas Ruiz-Galavez and injured another person.

Rolando Enrique Alvarenga-Aguilar

Details of the Event

On the night of the fatal crash, Alvarenga-Aguilar accelerated his van in a parking lot at the intersection of Maple and Belmont avenues in Fresno, striking one person seated at a table and pinning Ruiz-Galavez between his van and a taco truck.

Alvarenga-Aguilar fled the scene but was later apprehended by Fresno police officers in a nearby neighborhood. Investigations revealed his blood alcohol count was .20%, more than twice the legal limit.

Ruiz-Galavez succumbed to his injuries nine days later in the hospital.

Alvarenga-Aguilar, who has a criminal record that includes theft, domestic violence, and two prior DUI convictions in 2018 and 2019, was on probation for a 2019 DUI at the time of the crash.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Judge Denies Release for Fresno Police Cadet Arrested for Automatic Weapons

DON'T MISS

Reedley Woman Killed in Crosswalk Is Identified

DON'T MISS

Amazon to Shutter Two California Facilities, Affecting Over 300 Jobs

DON'T MISS

North Korean Missiles Rain Down on Ukraine Despite Sanctions

DON'T MISS

Grieving Ohio Father Tells Trump and Vance to Stop Talking About His Son

DON'T MISS

How Eating Family Pets Became a Trump Talking Point

DON'T MISS

Harris Outwitted Trump, but Will That Sway Undecided Voters?

DON'T MISS

Clovis East High Teen Who Died in Fresno Motorcycle Collision Identified

DON'T MISS

Campbell Wants to Say Goodbye to the ‘Soup’ in Its Name. It Isn’t the First to Make Such a Change

DON'T MISS

Israeli Airstrikes Hit UN School and Homes in Gaza and Kill at Least 34 People, Hospitals Say

UP NEXT

Reedley Woman Killed in Crosswalk Is Identified

UP NEXT

Amazon to Shutter Two California Facilities, Affecting Over 300 Jobs

UP NEXT

North Korean Missiles Rain Down on Ukraine Despite Sanctions

UP NEXT

Grieving Ohio Father Tells Trump and Vance to Stop Talking About His Son

UP NEXT

How Eating Family Pets Became a Trump Talking Point

UP NEXT

Harris Outwitted Trump, but Will That Sway Undecided Voters?

UP NEXT

Clovis East High Teen Who Died in Fresno Motorcycle Collision Identified

UP NEXT

Campbell Wants to Say Goodbye to the ‘Soup’ in Its Name. It Isn’t the First to Make Such a Change

UP NEXT

Israeli Airstrikes Hit UN School and Homes in Gaza and Kill at Least 34 People, Hospitals Say

UP NEXT

Jason Aldean, Andrew Santino, and Fresno State Football Take Center Stage

Anthony W. Haddad,
Multimedia Journalist
Anthony W. Haddad, who graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with his undergraduate degree and has an MBA at Fresno State, is the Swiss Army knife of GV Wire. He writes stories, manages social media, and represents the organization on the ground.

North Korean Missiles Rain Down on Ukraine Despite Sanctions

4 hours ago

Grieving Ohio Father Tells Trump and Vance to Stop Talking About His Son

4 hours ago

How Eating Family Pets Became a Trump Talking Point

4 hours ago

Harris Outwitted Trump, but Will That Sway Undecided Voters?

4 hours ago

Clovis East High Teen Who Died in Fresno Motorcycle Collision Identified

4 hours ago

Campbell Wants to Say Goodbye to the ‘Soup’ in Its Name. It Isn’t the First to Make Such a Change

4 hours ago

Israeli Airstrikes Hit UN School and Homes in Gaza and Kill at Least 34 People, Hospitals Say

4 hours ago

Jason Aldean, Andrew Santino, and Fresno State Football Take Center Stage

5 hours ago

NFL Averaged 21 Million Viewers per Game, a Record for Opening Week

6 hours ago

California Mom Who Pushed for Tougher DUI Laws Charged in Daughter’s Hot Car Death

6 hours ago

Judge Denies Release for Fresno Police Cadet Arrested for Automatic Weapons

The Fresno police cadet arrested on suspicion of possession of a machine gun and an unregistered weapon remains in jail after a federal judg...

2 hours ago

2 hours ago

Judge Denies Release for Fresno Police Cadet Arrested for Automatic Weapons

2 hours ago

Reedley Woman Killed in Crosswalk Is Identified

2 hours ago

Amazon to Shutter Two California Facilities, Affecting Over 300 Jobs

An undated image courtesy of Conflict Armament Research that is said to show remnants of a motor used to guide a North Korean Hwasong-11 short-range ballistic missile that was used in an attack on Ukraine. North Korea has continued to supply advanced short-range ballistic missiles to Russia in defiance of sanctions, according to a report by a weapons research group. (courtesy of Conflict Armament Research via The New York Times) -- NO SALES; FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY WITH NKOREA RUSSIA MISSILES BY JOHN ISMAY FOR SEPT. 11, 2024. ALL OTHER USE PROHIBITED.
4 hours ago

North Korean Missiles Rain Down on Ukraine Despite Sanctions

The father of an 11-year-old boy killed when an immigrant’s minivan crashed into a school bus has publicly lashed out at former President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance, calling them “morally bankrupt” politicians spreading hate at the expense of his son, Aiden Clark. (Maddie McGarvey/The New York Times)
4 hours ago

Grieving Ohio Father Tells Trump and Vance to Stop Talking About His Son

Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), the Republican candidate for vice president, speaks to reporters in San Diego during a visit to the border with Mexico on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. A falsehood that migrants have killed wild animals and household pets for food ricocheted around the internet this week, vaulting from fringe social media posts to a Trump campaign talking point in a matter of days. (Ariana Drehsler/The New York Times)
4 hours ago

How Eating Family Pets Became a Trump Talking Point

4 hours ago

Harris Outwitted Trump, but Will That Sway Undecided Voters?

4 hours ago

Clovis East High Teen Who Died in Fresno Motorcycle Collision Identified

Search

Send this to a friend