Woman gets prison for fatal collision

EL MONTE - A 29-year-old woman was sentenced to 19 years in state prison last week after pleading guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a fatal accident, the District Attorney's office announced.Deputy District Attorney Casey Jarvis said Tina Marie Silva was sentenced by El Monte Superior Court Judge Steven Sanora after four family members of the victims of the June 2012 collision made impact statements. Jarvis said the judge also ordered Silva to pay restitution, which will be determined at a hearing scheduled for May 2. Silva pleaded to the two felony charges and admitted great bodily injury allegations for two victims who survived, Jarvis said. Maximillion Petrakos, 13, was killed and his mother, Mary Hively, then 41, was injured about 12:40 a.m. on June 3, 2012. The boy and his mother were outside their disabled car parked on the shoulder of the westbound 60 Freeway in the Hacienda Heights area. Both were struck. Hively's other son, then 10, was asleep inside the car. Hively suffered major injuries, including fractured pelvis, spine and ribs. The sleeping boy in the car also sustained injuries, including a fractured cheekbone. Authorities said Silva was on her way home from a graduation party. After hitting the parked car and the victims, Jarvis said she backed up and drove away. Silva was arrested later by California Highway Patrol officers and has remained in custody on $1.2 million bail. She was charged by the District Attorney's office on June 5, 2012, two days after the crash.

********** Published: March 7, 2013 - Volume 11 - Issue 47