“There is nothing okay about driving under the influence of alcohol and/or a controlled substance. California Department of Justice criminalists worked to identify the blood alcohol content of the driver in this case, as well as the substance in his pocket. Prosecutors rely on this work to assist with their cases. No family should have to experience what this woman and her child went through as victims in this DUI case.” – CSLEA President Alan Barcelona
UKIAH- On January 27, 2023, German Dominguez Galindo, 32, of Ukiah, was sentenced eight years in state prison for driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs after hitting a woman who was crossing a street.
In August 2022, a young mother and her one-year-old daughter in a stroller, followed by other family members, were crossing North State Street in Ukiah on their way home from a fair. As a drunk driver was speeding toward the group, the young mother, took the evasive action of pushing the stroller with her daughter inside toward the curb so that her child wouldn’t be hit. It was all she could do before she herself was struck and thrown through the air. The child fell out of the stroller to relative safety before the stroller was dragged down the street under the car.
The child received minor physical injuries, but her mother was seriously wounded and required immediate stabilizing emergency medical care locally before being transferred to U.C. Davis Medical Center for surgeries and highly intensive care. The mother has returned to Ukiah but is facing long-term medical care and rehabilitation needs.
Defendant German Dominguez Galindo’s blood alcohol at the time of the collision was .22, according to lab work conducted by the California Department of Justice. The lab also determined that a bindle found in the defendant’s pant pocket contained cocaine.
Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Keith Faulder presided over Friday’s sentencing hearing during which the husband and father of the two victims gave a compelling and tearful victim impact statement, while the two victims and other family members listened and watched from the gallery.
