Drunk driver sentenced to prison for Placentia crash that killed mother and her two young daughters

A drunken driver who struck and killed a mother and her two young daughters as they were walking to their Placentia home was sentenced Friday to nine years and eight months in prison.

Nicholas Stephen Munoz, 28, pleaded guilty earlier this year to three felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated for running down 35-year-old Patricia Ledezma, 7-year-old Stephanie Ledezma and 3-year-old Diana Ledezma.

Munoz, a Placentia resident, was speeding on West La Jolla Street when he struck the family at about 10:20 p.m. on Aug. 20, 2016.

The mother and her daughters were heading home from a friend’s party when they were struck while crossing the street. Another of Ledezma’s daughters witnessed the deadly crash.

Two nearby Placentia police officers heard the sound of the impact of the crash. A neighbor who was walking just steps behind the Ledezma family described the collision as terrifying, noting that only moments earlier everyone had been happy, singing and dancing.

The surviving daughter and sister, now 11, spoke at Munoz’s sentencing hearing, telling the court that the hardest part was never being able to tuck her little sisters into bed or hug her mother again, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.