Veteran pleads guilty in fatal hit-and-run

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – An Iraq War veteran who took off after hitting a female transient in the middle of Interstate 5 near downtown San Diego pleaded guilty Wednesday to a felony charge of hit-and-run causing death.

Sandro Garcia, 33, is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 21 and is expected to be placed on probation.

Deputy District Attorney Lucy Yturralde said Garcia struck 51-year-old Sara Basile — also known as Patricia McNally — shortly after midnight last June 19. The prosecutor said Garcia drove to his aunt’s home, where he drank alcohol and waited an hour before calling police.

Yturralde said damage to Garcia’s car was significant, including a cracked windshield and front-end damage.

Garcia — a West Point graduate — didn’t have a cellphone when the accident occurred, so he drove to his aunt’s house nearby before notifying authorities, his attorney said earlier.