Plea bargain reached in fatal Rohnert Park DUI crash

A Santa Rosa man agreed to serve more than 19 years in prison for a 2014 wreck that killed his passenger.|
PAUL PAYNE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A Santa Rosa man agreed to serve more than 19 years in prison Friday for a Rohnert Park drunken-driving crash that killed his passenger.

Rafael Prieto-Gonzalez, 24, reached a plea bargain in the February 2014 crash that killed Abel Acosta, 44, of St. Helena.

He had previously been charged with second-degree murder because of a prior drunken-driving conviction.

But prosecutors dropped the charge and allowed him to plead guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and other allegations.

In exchange, Prieto-Gonzalez waived his trial, scheduled to start Monday.

Under state law, he will be required to serve 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for release.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.

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