A Vancouver woman arrested with a blood-alcohol level nearly four times the legal limit after a September crash was sentenced Tuesday to four months in jail.
Ana Y. Coronado, 52, pleaded guilty in Clark County Superior Court to vehicular assault while driving under the influence of alcohol. In addition to her jail sentence, she will serve 12 months of community custody.
According to court records, on Sept. 7, Coronado turned south onto Hazel Dell Avenue from eastbound 99th Street driving a 2007 Toyota Yaris. She turned wide, crossing the center line into the northbound left lane. There, she struck a 2014 Ford Focus that was traveling north in the turn lane.
The driver of the Ford Focus, 82-year-old Elsie Wolff, suffered a fractured sternum in the crash, according to court records.
Deputies at the scene noted Coronado was visibly drunk, according to court records, and a preliminary breath test taken about a half-hour after the crash registered her blood-alcohol level at 0.302. In Washington, a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or more is considered evidence of drunken driving.
Coronado’s sentence came about as part of a plea agreement between the prosecutor’s office and her attorney.
Judge Suzan Clark agreed with the deal, saying alcohol-related cases are often the toughest to preside over.
Coronado, who did not speak in court, has no criminal history. That doesn’t seem uncommon, Clark said.
“A large percentage of the time, they’re nice people who didn’t mean to do anything wrong,” she said, adding the only good thing about this case is the woman in the other car survived.
The sentence also requires Coronado to relinquish her driver’s license.
