Motorist to face murder charge
Woman drove for a mile with man’s body in her car after crash, Oceanside police say.
VISTA, Calif. — Prosecutors have said they plan to seek a murder charge against a suspected drunken driver accused of plowing into a pedestrian in June and then driving for a mile with his body wedged in her car.
The move was hailed by more than a dozen anti-illegal immigration activists who attended a hearing Thursday for Esteysi “Stacy” Sanchez, 29, who authorities have indicated may be in the country illegally.
Sanchez already had been charged with felony driving under the influence, gross vehicular manslaughter and driving without a license, and has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutor Bob Bruce declined to say why he added the murder charge.
According to police, Sanchez was driving east on Mission Avenue in Oceanside around 6:20 a.m. June 27 when her car jumped the sidewalk and struck a homeless man, Jack Ray Tenhulzen, 69.
The impact sent Tenhulzen through the car’s front windshield and into the passenger seat. Authorities say the driver kept going for nearly a mile before abandoning the vehicle. Witnesses said they watched as she got out of the car and stumbled down the street.
Sanchez was arrested a short time later after her boyfriend called police to report the incident. At her arraignment, prosecutors said that two hours after the crash, Sanchez’s blood alcohol level was about 0.18, or more than twice the legal limit.
The gruesome nature of the case made headlines, but interest in it increased after it was revealed that Sanchez was driving without a license and suspected of being in the United States illegally.
After Thursday’s hearing, protesters headed outside the Vista courthouse with signs and banners depicting photos of people they said were killed by immigrants who were not authorized to be in the country. Most of the protesters wore T-shirts with the same photos.
“This was something we had to stand up about,” said Jeff Schwilk, who organized the gathering. Schwilk, longknown for his leadership in the regional Minuteman movement, formed a group called San Diegans for Secure Borders in 2013.
Oceanside resident Brenda Sparks, whose son was fatally injured in a 2011 collision in Yucaipa when an immigrant who was in the country illegally crashed into his motorcycle, also joined the protest.
Sparks — a member of the Remembrance Project, which advocates for families of people killed by immigrants in the U.S. illegally — said Sanchez “needs to go back to where she comes from — and out of my country.”
Sanchez’s preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 26. She remains jailed in lieu of $1.5million bail and faces a potential sentence of 15 years to life in prison if convicted.