LAKESIDE, California. A drunk driver who fatally ran over a lake runner in his work truck three years ago was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday.
Michael Jason Woodfell, 49, was convicted by an El Cajon jury of second-degree murder in the August 27, 2018 crash that killed 41-year-old Susanna Gottel, a mother of two. After less than two hours of deliberation, the jurors returned the verdict.
Gottel was hit by a car on Woodside Avenue near Riverford Road at around 6:40 p.m., and later died at the hospital.
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A California highway patrol reported that Woodfield was traveling east along North Woodside Avenue near Riveford Road when his truck swerved to the right and hit a chain link fence. According to the CHP, Woodfill then “corrected too much”, the truck went to the opposite lane, hit the victim.
After hitting the gutter, Woodfield’s truck continued to descend with a dirty drum and turn to the side. He was arrested at the scene.
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Deputy District Attorney Kali Bright told the jury that Woodfell was on probation at the time of the crash for the 2016 DUI verdict. That conviction allowed prosecutors to charge Woodfield with second-degree murder in connection with Gottel’s death, as DUI offenders were advised that they could be charged with murder if they were arrested for another DUI where some one dies.
The prosecutor claimed that the defendant had a blood alcohol content of 0.21% three hours after the accident, which is almost three times the legal limit of California.
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