Man gets 11 years in prison for DUI crash that killed 2 adults, child returning from Bible study

SANTA ANA, Calif. (CNS) -- A 25-year-old Santa Ana man pleaded guilty Thursday and was immediately sentenced to 11 years in prison for an alcohol-fueled crash that killed two adults and a 10-year-old girl who were returning from a Bible study meeting in Placentia.

Mario Armando Paz Jr. pleaded guilty to three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, one count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury and one count of DUI with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or more causing injury, all felonies. He also admitted sentencing enhancements for inflicting great bodily injury on the victims.

According to the criminal complaint, his blood alcohol level was 0.14, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08. Paz was also accused of running a red light and driving at an unsafe speed, according to the complaint.

The victims who died in the Jan. 25, 2023, crash were 10-year-old Lucero Lopez of Anaheim; the girl's stepfather, 36-year-old Alberto Vicente Lopez of Anaheim; and 65-year-old Gregoria Ramirez of Placentia, according to Placentia police Sgt. Joe Connell.

Placentia Police Department officers responded at 8:45 p.m. the night of the crash to the intersection of Orangethorpe Avenue and South Melrose Street, where they learned that the driver of a black Honda Civic crashed into the rear of a white van from which a number of people were ejected.

Several other vehicles were involved in the crash, authorities said. As many as eight people suffered injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening, police said.

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Three victims were taken to UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange with serious injuries, and two children were rushed to Children's Hospital Orange County, where Lucero was pronounced dead, police said. Lucero's mother, who survived the crash, has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for funeral expenses for her daughter and her husband Alberto.

Lopez and Ramirez were pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

A church employee was driving the victims home in the van from a Bible study group, Connell said.

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