Santa Rosa woman sentenced to 3 years in prison for hit-and-run that killed Cloverdale teen

A Santa Rosa woman was sentenced Friday to three years and three months in prison for a hit-and-run that killed an 18-year-old Cloverdale man on a Sonoma County road last August.

Sonoma County Judge Mark Urioste sentenced Allisa Whitten during an emotional, two-hour hearing attended by 30-plus friends and family members of the victim, Oswaldo Cardenas Jr.

Whitten was arrested Sept. 1 and, on Nov. 17, pleaded no contest to a felony charge of hit-and-run causing injury and three misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter, destroying evidence and driving without a license.

She appeared to be crying as she sat silently in a jury box Friday, but never addressed Cardenas’ mother and sister, who fought back tears as they read statements.

Both accused Whitten of showing no remorse until after she was arrested and criticized her for leaving Cardenas.

“He may not have meant anything to you, but he was everything to us,” Cardenas’ sister, Isabelle Cardenas, said in her statement Friday.

At times, overcome by emotions, the women struggled to read their statements. Urioste suggested Cardenas’ mother, Christina Hermosillo, take a break if necessary and she eventually left the courtroom.

“My heart aches because of how much I love him,” Hermosillo said shortly before stepping aside.

The rest of her multi-page, handwritten statement was read by a victim advocate with the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office. It was critical of Whitten and urged Urioste to impose a maximum sentence.

Whitten, who was the driver of a Buick Enclave, hit Cardenas at about 7:30 a.m. Aug. 27 as he and two friends walked along River Road, west of Rio Vista Road.

Cardenas and the two 17-year-olds had been fishing in the moments before the collision occurred.

Whitten believed she hit a sign and got out of the SUV only to be confronted by one of Cardenas’ friends who told her what happened.

Prosecutors said she apologized before fleeing, sparking a dayslong search that afforded Whitten several opportunities to surrender.

According to court records, Whitten told investigators she took a bus to San Francisco and gave the SUV keys to an ex-boyfriend who was never identified beyond the name “Kellys.”

On Aug. 30, the SUV was found engulfed in flames on Llano Road west of Santa Rosa.

Police arrested Whitten Sept. 1 after investigators used the charred SUV’s registration to find her DMV photo, which matched witness’ description.

On Friday, Cardenas’ family chastised Whitten for leaving him while he was with friends who were only teenagers themselves.

Whitten told investigators she fled because was scared and panicked, but Deputy District Attorney Jamie Kandel argued Friday fear shouldn’t preclude someone from helping during an emergency.

“To ignore that … that is the definition of callous,” he told Urioste.

Whitten’s attorney with the Sonoma County Public Defender’s Office, Jay Pitchford, stressed his client was remorseful.

“I would argue panic is not the same as callousness,” he told Urioste.

Last month, Pitchford filed a request seeking leniency. It included a handwritten letter from Whitten expressing remorse and apologizing for her actions.

Prosecutors initially asked Urioste to sentence Whitten to six years in prison, but he said Friday the most he could impose was four years and six months.

As Urioste issued sentence of three years and three months, audience members sighed.

In a statement Friday night, Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez said “We offer our deepest condolences to the family of the victim. We filed every charge that was supported by the admissible evidence in this case and sought the maximum sentence allowed under the law.”

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi