Fairfax woman gets prison term for deadly DUI
A Fairfax woman who struck and killed a cyclist in Woodacre while driving intoxicated was sentenced Friday to six years in prison.
Paula Drake, 28, received the maximum possible sentence for the death of Debra DiBenedetto in 2018. The victim, a San Geronimo resident, was 63 years old.
The sentence came after tearful statements from DiBenedetto’s family and friends, and also an apology from Drake. She promised the family she would honor DiBenedetto through community service, specifically by speaking about her case publicly to prevent such a “senseless and totally avoidable tragedy.”
“The words ‘I’m sorry’ are nowhere near sufficient for the pain I’ve caused,” said Drake, who sobbed repeatedly during her statement. “There is no action or apology big enough to mend what I have broken.”
The incident happened at about 5:30 p.m. Oct. 29, 2018, on westbound Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. The California Highway Patrol said Drake veered over the fog line in a Ford Explorer and hit DiBenedetto.
DiBenedetto was thrown from her bike and into a ditch. Medics took her to a hospital, where she died within an hour.
Breath tests administered on Drake at the scene registered blood-alcohol levels of 0.066% and 0.067%. The legal limit for driving is 0.08%, but the breath test was administered nearly 90 minutes after the collision.
At about 9 p.m., investigators collected a blood sample to send to a state lab. The lab analysis found a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.031%. A criminalist calculated that Drake’s blood-alcohol level was about 0.09% when the collision happened.
Authorities also developed evidence that Drake was texting on her phone at points during her drive.
Drake took the case to trial. It did not happen last fall because of extensive courthouse delays from the coronavirus pandemic.
The defense disputed that Drake was above the legal intoxication threshold and argued that Drake accidentally struck DiBenedetto while pulling off the road to check a persistent steering linkage problem.
A jury convicted Drake of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
The sentencing occurred over several hours Friday morning and afternoon in Marin County Superior Court. DiBenedetto’s supporters recalled her positive influence in her family, among her friends and through her work as a schoolteacher in San Rafael.
“I lost a lifetime best friend and partner,” said Ernie DiBenedetto, the victim’s husband.
Susan Holland, a Miller Creek School District teacher who worked with DiBenedetto, said her friend always strove to instill a sense of personal responsibility in her students.
“Ms. Drake made certain choices to get us where we are today,” Holland said. “Debbie would want to see that she took responsibility for her actions and be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
Sarah DiBenedetto, the victim’s daughter, said “the pain of losing my mom has been unbearable.”
“I want so much for her to be here. I feel such a sense of loss,” she said. “Please honor my mom’s life and deliver the maximum sentence.”
Several supporters of Drake also addressed the court. Her stepfather, Mario Batz, said it would be better for Drake to be out of custody as soon as possible so she can make a positive contribution to the community.
“It was an accident,” he said. “It was an accident brought on by some really stupid decisions, but it was an accident nonetheless.”
Judge Geoffrey Howard said a 10-year sentence, which used to be the potential maximum, was off the table because of recent changes in state law. So the choice was the middle term of six years, the lower term of four years, or a grant of probation.
Deputy District Attorney Matthew Jacobs called for six years, saying Drake repeatedly lied during the case or downplayed the crime as an accident.
“Obviously the jury did not consider her testimony credible,” he said.
Defense attorney Curtis Briggs sought a four-year sentence, arguing, among other things, that Drake is the single mother of a small child.
Howard noted the irony of arguing for leniency to avoid separating a child from a mother.
“The whole case is about the taking of someone’s mother, someone’s partner,” he said.
Howard ruled out both probation and the lower prison term, citing the “callousness” of Drake’s conduct and her apparent dishonesty with police and the jury.
“This is one of the most serious crimes committed in a particularly egregious way,” he said.