WOODLAND — There were a number of stark realities that emerged during the trial of Steven Hendrix for his role in a fatal Second Street crash, Yolo Superior Court Judge Paul Richardson noted Thursday during Hendrix’s sentencing hearing.
There was the homeless status of Hendrix’s girlfriend, her sister and their four young children, which brought them to Davis as they sought refuge in a local shelter.
There was the trial’s first witness, bicyclist Blaise Camp, who after nearly being sideswiped by Hendrix’s speeding vehicle saw it broadside another car in what he described as “an explosion of fluid and debris.”
And there were the photos of the crash scene, including grim images of victim Cynthia Ann Jonasen still buckled into her car seat, a “surprised look in her lifeless eyes,” Richardson said.
“These are the things that stand out in my mind,” he added, also noting that a 12-year-old girl in Hendrix’s car had pleaded with him to slow down just before the fatal collision.
“That request was ignored, and we are here today because of an unwillingness or a lack of appreciation of what was about to happen,” Richardson said. “Certainly, Ms. Jonasen is not with us today because the defendant did not pay heed” to the girl’s concerns.
So despite defense attorneys’ plea for the judge to consider the mitigating circumstances in Hendrix’s case — to “see the good side of him” — Richardson concluded that the aggravating factors far outweighed them, sentencing the defendant to 42 years and four months in state prison.
That term reflects charges from the Feb. 24, 2016, crash, as well as a domestic violence conviction that occurred just five days earlier.
About a dozen relatives and friends of Jonasen, a 71-year-old Davis resident and former Yolo County probation officer who gave up that job because she preferred to rehabilitate clients rather than police them, attended Thursday’s hearing.
They remembered her as a wife, mother, grandmother and friend who devoted her life to helping others and was the rock of the family, Jonasen’s daughter, Kelly Jonasen, wrote in a letter to the court.
“It’s her presence we miss most — her laugh, smile, hugs, quirky mannerisms, shopping, and just the way she included everyone and made them feel special,” Jonasen wrote.
A jury convicted Hendrix, 33, in May of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence of drugs causing injury and four counts of child endangerment.
Jurors hung 11-1 to acquit him of the most serious charge, second-degree murder, a count that prosecutors said reflected Hendrix’s conscious disregard for public safety as sped down Second Street, peaking at 84 mph seconds before the crash.
The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office opted not to re-try him on that charge but did request the maximum possible sentence.
Hendrix’s attorneys sought the minimum term of 16 years, 2 months, describing the incident as “a tragic accident” for which their client was remorseful — even trying to check on Jonasen right after the crash, only to be held back by others at the scene.
“He was fighting to get there. I think that should be taken into account,” Deputy Public Defender Teal Dixon said. She added that Hendrix, who was speeding to get the women and children to a homeless shelter on time, “wanted to be of assistance, though it was done badly.”
Prosecuting attorney Amanda Zambor disputed that Hendrix harbored any good intentions, citing his reckless driving that victimized not only Jonasen but also the six other people and three dogs in his own vehicle, as well as others who were on the road that day.
“It is a miracle that anyone walked away from the defendant’s car, and I think that needs to be accounted for,” said Zambor, adding that Hendrix, who never obtained a driver’s license, already faced prison time for the abuse conviction as he flouted the rules of the road.
“All the more reason for him to abide by the law, but he couldn’t even do that,” Zambor said.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene
Read more:
Hendrix jury hangs on murder, convicts on manslaughter and DUI: http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/hendrix-jury-han…ughter-and-dui-2/
Murder or accident? Trial starts in fatal Davis crash: http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/murder-or-tragic…ond-street-crash/
Murder charge filed against driver in fatal Second Street crash: http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/crime-fire-courts/driver-killed-in…-second-street-2/