Wichita man sentenced for fatal drunken driving crash near MacArthur and Hoover
A 27-year-old Wichita man responsible for a fatal crash in 2020 near MacArthur and Hoover roads was sentenced Thursday to three years, seven months in prison, according to Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Dan Dillon.
Gabriel Ortiz pleaded guilty on May 30 to involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence and two counts of aggravated battery in the Sept. 5, 2020, collision that killed 55-year-old Sonia Lopez of Wichita. Authorities have said Lopez was a passenger in a Toyota Sienna van that Ortiz hit head-on with an Infiniti Q50 in the 5600 block of West MacArthur around 2:15 a.m.
Ortiz was driving the car while drunk and speeding more than 100 mph in the moments leading up to the collision, according to his arrest affidavit. He veered off the road while driving east and crossed the center line when he over corrected, the affidavit says.
Lopez died at a local hospital from multiple blunt force injuries, according to her autopsy report. Three others in the van were hurt, two seriously, authorities have said.
Ortiz was arrested and extradited from San Diego in January 2022 to face charges in connection with the crash
He will have to serve three years of post-release supervision after he’s released from prison, Dillon said.
Sedgwick County District Judge David Kaufman handed down the sentence, he said.
This story was originally published July 13, 2023 at 5:10 PM.
