Man sentenced to 14 years in state prison for fatal drunk driving crash in Oroville | Butte County

BUTTE COUNTY, CA – A Mojave man was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in state prison in connection with a fatal drunken crash in Oroville that killed one person and seriously injured another.

Butte County Prosecutor Mike Ramsey said Elpidio ArevaloBeotello, 30, previously pleaded guilty to intoxicated manslaughter, hit-and-run and other related charges.

Ramsey says that on the evening of August 11, 2023, ArevaloBotello was driving a Nissan sedan westbound on Ophir Road. According to authorities, ArevaloBotello ran the red light, clipping the front of a Jeep Cherokee that was traveling south through the intersection.

The impact with the Jeep caused the Nissan to strike a motorcycle that was stopped in the eastbound turning lane on Ophir Road, causing serious injuries to the driver of the motorcycle, identified as Jeffrey Brooks, 61, of Olivehurst, and at his 66th year. Engaged passenger of 3 years.

Authorities say Brooks and his fiancee were transported to a local hospital. Twelve days after the accident, Brooks succumbed to his injuries.

The fiancé remained in the hospital for several days with several broken ribs following the accident. Authorities say a passenger in the Jeep suffered minor injuries in the crash.

Ramsey says that during the sentencing hearing, the driver of the Jeep told the judge how Brooks had warned him by waving his hands at his vehicle.

The driver said Brook's warning that ArevaloBotello was blowing through the red light at the intersection caused him to begin braking his vehicle, which prevented the Nissan from striking directly into the driver's side of the Jeep. Brook's warning, the driver said, likely spared him and his wife from more serious injury, or even death, in the crash.

Brook's fiance told the judge that Brooks threw her from the motorcycle just before the vehicle hit them, which protected her from more serious injury.

The judge also heard a written statement from Brook's son telling ArevaloBotello “You killed a man with your decisions and you could have killed others.”

Ramsey said the defense attorney asked ArevaloBotello to receive formal probation or, in the alternative, a lesser prison sentence, pointing to his client's lack of criminal history.

Butte County Superior Court Judge Jesus Rodriguez imposed a 14-year state prison sentence, noting that his decision was based on ArevaloBotello's attempt to avoid responsibility for the accident by leaving the scene, abandoning the vehicle and reporting the theft of his vehicle a few hours later. the crash.

ArevaloBotello was also ordered by the judge to pay the victims of the accident criminal reparation in the amount of $39,621.