A Davis High School graduate received a state prison sentence of 23 years to life Friday for his role in a Jan. 6, 2012, drunken-driving crash that killed a Woodland man and seriously injured two others.
Ryan Scott Baird, 23, already had two DUI convictions on his record when he got behind the wheel of his Mitsubishi Eclipse, which authorities say was traveling at least 80 mph when it veered off an Interstate 5 offramp in Woodland and rolled, ejecting three passengers from the car.
Robert Dale Sunderland III, 25, died at the scene, while Oscar Saeed Rodriguez Lupercio and James Dakota Lee Black — whose 21st birthday the foursome was celebrating that night — were hospitalized with major injuries. Baird, who had to be extricated from the wreckage, later registered blood-alcohol levels ranging from 0.14 to 0.18, well above the legal limit of 0.08.
A Yolo County jury in May convicted Baird of second-degree murder, a charge the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office sought because Baird’s prior DUI convictions would have made him aware of the dangers of driving while intoxicated. The 2007 Davis High School graduate also was convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and DUI causing injury and/or death.
Prosecuting attorney Amanda Zambor called the lengthy sentence “a just result.”
“The defendant risked the lives of the three people in his vehicle, as well as the lives of everyone else on the road, when he chose to drive on Jan. 6, 2012,” Zambor said. “He had numerous warnings and education on just how dangerous driving under the influence is and chose to get in the car regardless of the risks.”
Baird’s defense attorney, Richard Dudek, could not be reached for comment Friday about the sentence, which was handed down by Yolo Superior Court Judge Janet Gaard.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene