A driver from Vista who struck and seriously injured an elderly man with her car while she was transporting a group of undocumented immigrants was sentenced Wednesday.
A judge sentenced Elizabeth Ugarte Rios, 38, to three years and five months in federal prison.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says the defendant picked up a group of migrants who had climbed over a border fence at Otay Lakes County Park on Aug. 4.
While driving with the migrants and her juvenile daughter in the car, Ugarte Rios traveled at nearly twice the speed limit along Wueste Road, a two-lane highway in Chula Vista. She was being followed by a uniformed Border Patrol agent in an unmarked vehicle.
The driver crossed the double-yellow line to pass a vehicle, according to prosecutors, and though she applied the brakes, her car struck bicyclist Robert Hilborn, 71, at around 30 mph.
The impact left him hospitalized for more than two months from injuries that included multiple strokes and orthopedic injuries, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He was on a ventilator for many days and suffered deep lacerations to his legs plus others lacerations to his head, neck and stomach.
Hilborn, his wife and two sons attended the sentencing. Sharon Hilborn told the court her husband used to ride his bike up to 100 miles per week and found joy in being fit and active.
Their lives are now dominated by going to medical appointments and therapy sessions, she said, drawing tears from the gallery during the hearing, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Ugarte Rios pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal count related to the transportation that results in causing someone serious bodily injury. She had faced 20 years in prison.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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