By ONME Newswire
FRESNO, Calif--On December 5, 2023, Francisco Antonio Portillo (23, of Fresno), was sentenced to 19 years and 4 months in state prison for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated which caused the death of three people and injured five others. Portillo’s sentence was handed down by Judge Charles Lee of the Fresno County Superior Court after Portillo pled no contest to charges on October 5, 2023.
On March 20, 2021, at about 11:05 p.m., Portillo was recklessly driving a black Chevy Camaro near First Street and McKinley Avenue. When a Deputy with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department attempted to stop him, he accelerated away from them, at one point reaching speeds of approximately 100 miles per hour (mph). A few seconds later, Portillo ran a red light and caused a traffic collision at the intersection of Cedar Avenue and McKinley Avenue which involved multiple vehicles. When Deputies arrived on scene, they observed three vehicles fully engulfed in flames. Juan Montes Dominguez, Simranjit Kaur, and Navneet Kaur succumbed to injuries caused by the crash and five other individuals suffered substantial injuries.
After an investigation by the Fresno Police Department, it was revealed that Portillo was operating the vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and marijuana. Portillo tested positive for THC and his Blood Alcohol Count (BAC) was .09% at the time of the crash.
This case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Steven Ueltzen with the Alcohol and Drug Impaired Driver Vertical Prosecution Unit. Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (see case information below.)