DA: Visalia man sentenced in DUI crash that killed pregnant woman

VISALIA, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – A 30-year-old Visalia man has been sentenced to life in prison following a 2018 DUI crash that killed a pregnant mother, the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday.

The DA says on June 15, 2018, around 9:30 p.m. California Highway Patrol officers were dispatched to a collision on Highway 63 south of Avenue 392 near Cutler. When they arrived, they found two vehicles involved in a head-on crash.

According to the DA, 30-year-old, David Edma was unconscious and pinned in his vehicle. The occupants of the second vehicle were a family including an adult male driver, his wife who was 20 weeks pregnant, and three minor children. The expectant mother was rushed to medical facilities in Fresno where the baby was delivered, but both mother and child died.

The DA says the remaining victims were treated at other medical facilities after suffering broken clavicle, pulmonary contusions, broken hips, and a perforated bowel.

When Edma was removed from his vehicle, the DA’s office says a beer can fell from between his legs. Tests on his blood revealed a .24% BAC, which is three times California’s legal limit of 0.08 BAC. The DA says Edma already possessed a misdemeanor DUI conviction from 2017 with a high blood alcohol content and was on probation for that DUI at the time of this offense.

At trial on March 12, Edma was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder with the special allegations that he caused great bodily injury, used a deadly weapon (the car), and was on probation when the crime was committed, according to the DA.

The DA says in addition, he was convicted of felony DUI with great bodily injury for the male driver and the three children in the car, a misdemeanor driving while license suspended, and unlawful vehicle operation.

Current state sentencing laws mean Edma must serve 30 years in custody, not including California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) credits, before getting parole consideration.

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