DUI offender sentenced to prison

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – A repeat DUI offender who disappeared while awaiting trial for an alcohol-related, wrong-way freeway crash that seriously injured a woman driving another car was sentenced Friday to nine years and eight months in state prison.

Daniel Castro, 34, the former keyboard player for the band Long Live Logos, pleaded guilty in July to felony DUI causing injury and other charges. He was captured in late April in Ensenada, Mexico, and brought back to San Diego.

Shortly before 2 a.m. on May 22, 2013, Castro was driving a Toyota Sequoia north in the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 near Balboa Park when he crashed head-on into a Ford Fusion driven by 29-year-old Jessica Creed.

Creed said she was headed home with her boyfriend after getting off work when Castro hit their car.

“I looked down and saw half my left arm was missing,” Creed told Judge Timothy Walsh.

Creed, who now has a prosthetic arm, also suffered a broken pelvis, fractured vertebrae and a shattered left side of her face. She said she came within an inch of being permanently paralyzed.

“I have been humiliated by Mr. Castro’s decision to drink and drive,” she told the judge.

Deputy District Attorney Jerry Gonzales said Castro had a blood-alcohol content of more than .30 percent after the fatal accident.

The prosecutor said Castro admitted DUI convictions from 2004 and 2011 as part of his plea, as well as having jumped bail on the current case.

Even though Castro apologized for his actions, the judge sentenced him to the maximum term under the law, saying the defendant lacked courage, character and remorse.