Drunk driver sentenced in death of 7-year-old girl; up to 20 years

A 42-year-old woman was sentenced Monday to up to 20 years in prison for driving while drunk and causing a crash that killed seven-year-old Brianna Rosales and injured her mother, Grendalee Alvarado.

Olivia Mora was convicted last month of manslaughter while operating under the influence in the November 2013 crash on Olney Street. Mora’s speeding SUV hit a parked car, jumped a curb, hit a fire hydrant, and struck Brianna and Alvarado, as they walked hand in hand on the sidewalk, prosecutors said. Brianna died at the hospital and Alvarado spent months recovering.

Mora apologized in a statement written in Spanish and translated in court by an interpreter, but insisted that a tire fell off her vehicle and she had not been drinking the day of the crash, according to The Boston Globe.

The judge noted that the evidence in the case was overwhelming. Mora failed field sobriety tests and her blood alcohol content was above the legal limit to drive.

Alvarado forgave Mora in court. “I do forgive you with all of my heart,” she said in Spanish that was translated by an interpreter.

Mora will get credit for the time she has spent behind bars awaiting trial.


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