CARLSBAD: Motorist guilty in deadly hit-and-run

VISTA ---- A Carlsbad man was convicted Thursday of gross vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run for causing a freeway crash more than two years ago that killed a pregnant woman and her unborn child.

John Francis Sudac faces up to 11 years in prison, with sentencing set for June 3.

Following a two-week trial, Sudac, 30, was found guilty of causing the Jan. 4, 2009, crash that killed 24-year-old Yine Gonzalez of Tijuana.

Gonzalez, who was six months pregnant, was partially ejected from the Ford Explorer in which she was a passenger when it was clipped by Sudac's car from behind on Interstate 5 near Lomas Santa Fe Drive. The Ford rolled several times.

Gonzalez died at a hospital and her fetus could not be saved. Her husband, 5-year-old daughter and two relatives were treated for minor injuries stemming from the 1 a.m. crash.

The CHP said Sudac and a male passenger ran from the wrecked car, but Sudac turned himself in later that night.


