FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — The epidemic of drunk driving skyrocketed over the last decade by more than 50% in the State of California. Many pointing to lenient laws as the reason.<\/p>\n
State data shows drivers with prior DUIs are involved in a majority of fatal and injury DUI crashes in California.<\/p>\n
RELATED: Investigation finds California isn’t strongly punishing DUIs as alcohol-related road deaths increase<\/a><\/p>\n “My family just feels helpless. They feel lost. They feel lost in a system where they want to believe is here to do the job that they can’t do,” says Lucy Ochoa, lost a family member to drunk driving.<\/p>\n Lucy Ochoa lost her pregnant niece and her niece’s boyfriend to a drunk driver.<\/p>\n The Fresno County judge handed down 12 years’ probation to the deadly driver citing mental health and a showing of remorse. It is a sentence Ochoa says was a blow to her family.<\/p>\n “The laws are not in favor of the victim. It’s in favor of the person that commits the crime, its agony,” says Ochoa.<\/p>\n In some states, a second DUI is a felony but in California, drivers won’t face that charge until their fourth offense.<\/p>\n Madera County District Attorney Sally Moreno says it’s hard to stop repeat offenders.<\/p>\n She saw it firsthand at the site of a deadly crash where three-time offender Sylvester Conway was at the wheel.<\/p>\n “As we were there going through the car as it was getting towed away, we opened the glove box and there pops out his week-old DUI citation out of Fresno County just back on the road again,” says Moreno.<\/p>\n Melanie Sandoval was only a teenager in 1989 when she was first convicted of driving drunk.<\/p>\n Decades later, she has racked up 16 DUI charges, spanning several valley counties.<\/p>\n Moreno says each time her office has prosecuted Sandoval to the fullest extent of the law.<\/p>\n “When we saw this particular defendant, we gave her the max we could give her. We sent her to prison in 2012 for five years and when she came back in 2019 shockingly with another DUI, we maxed her out again. It’s just the laws that don’t have the teeth that we need,” says Moreno.<\/p>\n California was one of the strictest states with tough laws against drunk drivers. The push dating back to the 1980’s, by the group Mothers Against Drunk Driving. But, ABC30 Legal Analyst Tony Capozzi explains over the years the system has shifted.<\/p>\n Capozzi says while the strict penalties are there, it doesn’t usually come unless the driver killed someone.<\/p>\n “I think the justice system is looking for alternatives other than sending them to jail. Getting them into programs: driving under the influence programs, mental health court, taking any kind of program they can help this person to change their lifestyle. Just putting them in jail is not going to change their lifestyle,” says Capozzi.<\/p>\n Desperate for change, victimized families call lawmakers to hear their cry.<\/p>\n “I just want you to open up your eyes and see how bad California is, how many families are suffering from no changes,” says Ochoa.<\/p>\n District Attorney Moreno believes the state could take action now, suggesting they make time limits on prior convictions unlimited, the third DUI a felony, and increase sentencing per each offense.<\/p>\n For news and weather updates, follow Brisa Col\u00f3n on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 2025 KFSN-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n