A 24-year-old Oxnard woman was sentenced to two years in state prison for causing a fatal crash in 2023 while driving more than 110 mph on the 101 Freeway in Santa Barbara County, officials announced Thursday.
The deadly incident occurred Aug. 13, 2023, when Ricki Newton was allegedly racing a friend at 113 mph on the southbound 101 near the Olive Mill Road exit in Montecito, according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office.
“Ms. Newton attempted to pass a Mercury Mountaineer when she lost control, colliding with the vehicle and forcing it over an embankment,” the DA’s Office said. “The passenger of the Mountaineer, Louis Hernandez Jr., a 77-year-old resident of Santa Paula, was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene.”…