The driver who fatally struck a grandfather in Midtown in 2024 was sentenced with 180 days of work release and 30 days of community service last week — a typically light sentence in California, where many vehicular manslaughter cases are charged as misdemeanors.
Michelle Silva, the widow of José Luis Silva, 55, said that she was not surprised to hear the judge’s words in court Friday.
The prosecutor and other families whose relatives were killed in car crashes had warned her that a forgiving sentence is the standard criminal court outcome for fatal collisions in California. She was relieved that the judge didn’t grant the driver diversion, an option in the state that could have erased the vehicular manslaughter charge from the driver’s record…