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Five years after her initial arrest, a Fresno woman was sentenced on Tuesday for her role in a fatal DUI collision.<\/p>\n
Leigha Linae Addington was sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison following an April conviction for second-degree murder.<\/a> According to a release from the Fresno County District Attorney\u2019s Office, jurors deliberated for less than one hour before finding Addington guilty of second-degree murder, driving on a suspended license causing injury and driving with a blood alcohol concentration above .01% while on probation for driving under the influence. There were also six aggravating factors in the sentencing, according to the DA\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n Addington was driving on Highway 180 near Cornelia Avenue when she allowed her SUV to drift onto the right dirt shoulder. Overcorrecting, she then crossed into oncoming traffic. \u201cThe vehicle that was traveling eastbound on 180 swerved to the right, taking evasive action but the two cars collided,\u201d an CHP officers testified during a preliminary hearing<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was debris everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n According to testimony, Addington told officers she had been trying to retrieve her phone, or had maybe fallen asleep at the wheel. A preliminary breath test showed her blood alcohol concentration was at least .26%. Subsequent testing also revealed the presence of cocaine and THC, according to the DA\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n Addington had already been twice convicted of DUI prior to the 2021 crash. She was on probation, which required an ignition interlock device to drive, and had been warned by the courts that murder charges were possible if she were ever responsible for someone being killed.<\/p>\n Leigha Addington was sentenced to 15 year to life in prison for a 2021 DUI collision in which a 65-year-old woman was killed. FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF\u2019S OFFICE <\/p>\n
Brenda Ricci was newly retired when she was killed in the crash. Special to the Bee SPECIAL TO THE BEE Brenda Sue Ricci, 65, of Fresno<\/p>\n