Orange County Criminal Attorney Blog

Yadira Torres, a 26 year-old resident of Hartford, Connecticut, will serve at least five years in prison under an agreement to plead guilty to driving while intoxicated and vehicular manslaughter in state Superior Court in Stamford. A judge will decide the exact length of her sentencing at a hearing scheduled for February 22. The case involves an accident in May 2011 that killed a truck driver and a pregnant teenager.

Early in the morning of May 7, Torres was driving a Dodge Caliber SUV home from a night out at a nightclub in Manhattan. As she was going north on Interstate 95 in Darien, Connecticut, Torres lost control of her vehicle while attempting to pass a tractor trailer. Her vehicle collided with the tractor trailer with enough force to cause it to turn over and spin, becoming separated from its trailer. The truck caught fire when it came to rest.

Passers-by managed to remove the truck's passenger, 18 year-old Kimberly Taborda. Rescue workers pronounced the truck's driver, 42 year-old James Sorto, dead at the scene. His burns were extensive enough that the medical examiner needed several days to identify his remains. Taborda died of blunt trauma injuries later at a nearby hospital. Police arrested Torres at a different hospital, where she and her three passengers were taken for minor injuries.

Torres was remorseful over the accident and admitted to full responsibility, according to the public defender who represented her. She is free on $35,000 bail pending her sentencing, and her attorney says that she has not driven a car since the accident occurred. She reportedly had minimal automobile insurance coverage, so the families of the victims have opted not to file civil claims against Torres for wrongful death. An attorney for Taborda's family, however, told the Stamford Advocate that the family is considering a dram shop lawsuit against the Manhattan nightclub that allegedly served Torres alcohol that day. Dram shop cases involve claims against people or businesses that serve alcohol, if they serve a visibly intoxicated person and that person goes on to cause injury to another person.

Prosecutors charged Torres with driving under the influence, reckless driving, and two counts of manslaughter. Her plea, entered in court on November 22, includes all four charges. At her sentencing hearing in February, her attorney and the prosecutor will each present arguments to the judge regarding an appropriate sentence. She will serve a minimum of five years, but could serve as many as eight years in state prison.