What Sentences Are Imposed for DUI Causing Injury in Los Angeles?
Three independent completed Los Angeles prosecutions involving DUI causing injury were reviewed for this guide. The reported outcomes were 3 years 8 months, 11 years, and 12 years 8 months, but they are not a clean target-offense range: two totals also cover fatal-crash offenses or other counts, and the 11-year case involved four prior DUI convictions. These are selected public reports, not a citywide distribution.
Quick Answer
- Independent completed cases: 3
- City locations: Boyle Heights/near downtown, Elysian Valley, and North Hills
- Outcome type: state prison
- Comparable range: not calculated because conviction structures and prior records differ
- System: California state/local prosecution
See the Los Angeles hub, compare gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and assault with a deadly weapon, and read our methodology.
What Is DUI Causing Injury?
California Vehicle Code §23153 covers impaired driving that concurrently involves an unlawful act or neglected driving duty which proximately causes bodily injury to someone other than the driver. The statute has separate subdivisions for alcohol, a blood-alcohol concentration of at least .08 percent, drugs, and combined alcohol-and-drug impairment.
Statutory Sentence
For a first §23153 conviction, Vehicle Code §23554 authorizes state prison or 90 days to one year in county jail, plus a fine of to ,000 and license consequences. Other provisions can add or alter custody. Section 23558 provides a one-year state-prison enhancement for each additional injured victim, up to three, when pleaded and proved. Section 23566 provides two, three, or four years for specified repeat-offender situations and an additional three years in the four-prior circumstance described there. These statutory rules are not the observed totals below.
Observed Completed Outcomes
| Case | Los Angeles conduct | Disposition | Final outcome | Allocation note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wendy Villegas | Boyle Heights crash near downtown killed one cyclist and injured two others | No-contest plea to vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI causing injury, and hit-and-run | 3 years 8 months | Aggregate plea outcome; no count-by-count term reported |
| Konstanty Makowski | Elysian Valley crosswalk collision seriously injured two children | Jury conviction for DUI causing injury and driving with .08 percent BAC causing injury; four prior DUIs reported | 11 years | Multiple DUI counts and substantial prior record |
| Jose Armando Macias Jr. | North Hills crash killed one adult and seriously injured a toddler | Guilty plea to DUI alcohol-and-drug causing great bodily injury to a child and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated | 12 years 8 months | Aggregate outcome includes fatal-crash offense |
Case Details
Wendy Villegas: The Los Angeles County District Attorney reported a final three-year-eight-month sentence after a no-contest plea covering vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI causing injury, and leaving the scene. Because the release gives one total for all counts, it is not treated as a DUI-injury-only sentence. Official source.
Konstanty Makowski: A jury convicted Makowski of DUI causing injury and driving with a .08 percent BAC causing injury after two children were struck in Elysian Valley. The final sentence was eleven years; the release also reports four prior DUIs. Official source.
Jose Armando Macias Jr.: Macias pleaded guilty to DUI alcohol-and-drug causing great bodily injury to a young child and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. The twelve-year-eight-month term covers that fatal-crash prosecution as a whole. Official source.
Why No Numerical Observed Range Is Claimed
The shortest and longest totals are not like-for-like measurements of §23153 alone. Fatality counts, hit-and-run conduct, multiple injured people, great-bodily-injury findings, and prior DUI convictions materially change exposure. Presenting 3 years 8 months to 12 years 8 months as a target-offense range would therefore be misleading.
Methodology and Limitations
We required an offense in the City of Los Angeles, a completed conviction, a final sentence, and an official source identifying DUI causing injury. Nearby independent cities and pending charges were excluded. The three retained prosecutions are independent, but the public releases do not provide a representative citywide dataset.
Sources
Disclaimer
General information only, not legal advice.