Santa Rosa repeat DUI offender guilty of 2nd-degree murder in 2019 crash that killed Windsor woman

A Santa Rosa man previously convicted of driving under the influence twice has been found guilty of murder in a 2019 DUI crash that killed a Windsor mother of twins.

A jury on Friday convicted Fernando Aguilera, 33, of Santa Rosa on charges of second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence causing injury in the death of Rosa Lua, 47, of Windsor, the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

Aguilera faces a sentence of 15 years to life in prison for the crime, which happened on March 20, 2019, on Highway 101 south of River Road, the release said.

Aguilera was driving over 100 mph in his Ford Fusion when he crashed into the back of Lua’s Honda Civic, causing it to flip over. The overturned Honda hit a fence and tree before it came to a stop in the road shoulder.

Lua was extracted from her car by firefighters and pronounced dead at the scene.

Aguilera’s blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.156%, nearly double the legal threshold of 0.08%.

“This victim left behind twins who celebrated their 6th birthday the day the verdict was rendered,” District Attorney Jill Ravitch said in the release. “The defendant’s conduct, after twice being convicted in the past for driving under the influence, will forever impact their lives as well.”

A Sonoma County judge convicted Aguilera in April 2011 of driving under the influence and sentenced him to two months in jail and four years probation, court records show. He also spent two days in jail in 2009 in connection with a misdemeanor DUI conviction.

Lua’s family did not respond to messages seeking an interview on Wednesday.

You can reach Staff Writer Matt Pera at matthew.pera@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Matt__Pera.