Inset left: Yesenia Ochoa Olaez (KTLA/YouTube). Inset middle: Lorena Morales (GoFundMe). Inset right: Alejandra Olaez (KTLA/YouTube). Background: Victor Siharath being arrested by law enforcement in Los Angeles County, California (Key News/KABC/YouTube).
A man in California has learned where he will spend the coming years of his life for driving drunk and killing three women returning from a baby shower.
Victor Siharath, 37, was sentenced on Thursday to 30 years to life in prison for the crash that took the lives of Yesenia Ochoa Olaez, 33, Lorena Morales, 58, and Alejandra Olaez, 33, local outlets, including Fox affiliate KTTV, reported. He had pleaded no contest earlier this month to three counts of second-degree murder and DUI causing injury.
As Law&Crime previously reported, on March 2, 2024, the three women were driving back from the family event at about 11 p.m. when an SUV driven by Siharath ran a red light and struck the side of their car. Video obtained by Los Angeles-based ABC affiliate KABC showed the chilling impact and the women”s car going into a tailspin.
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The women were killed, and two others — Morales’ husband and Alejandra Olaez’s 12-year-old daughter — were “seriously injured,” according to the Pomona Police Department. Siharath was found to be under the influence of alcohol, and he was arrested and jailed on the second-degree murder and DUI charges.
Video from another local outlet, The CW affiliate KTLA, showed the extensive damage to the victims’ sedan. The driver’s side of the car was caved in, and the front left wheel was nearly on its side. Siharath’s front bumper was also wrecked, with his front right wheel nearly dislodged — showing the destruction from what is commonly referred to as a T-bone crash.
Siharath was not just driving drunk — he was traveling “well above” the speed limit of 35 mph, then-Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said when announcing the charges last year.
“There are no words to express the heartbreak that Mr. Siharath’s actions have caused these victims’ families and community,” he added in a press release. “Our hearts go out to the grieving families and the survivors as they attempt to cope with this unimaginable tragedy.”
“Those who choose to jeopardize themselves and others by driving under the influence will face swift legal consequences,” he continued. “There is nothing that can bring back the countless lives lost to speeding and drunk driving, but our office will continue to hold those responsible.”
According to KTTV, Gascón detailed how Siharath had a prior conviction in 2014 of DUI in neighboring San Bernardino County, and he had been given a legal warning that if he drove drunk again and caused a death, he could be charged with murder.
The cruel irony of losing lives on the very day they were celebrating anticipated new life was not lost on authorities or the family members of the victims.
“We’re at a loss for words with what happened,” Ochoa Olaez’s cousin, Cindy Ramos, said alongside Gascón last year. “This is a terrible tragedy … of innocent people … we’re doing a celebration of new life, and we just want justice for our family, for the children that were left behind.”
“It’s just really not fair,” she added. “So we seek everybody’s help … just full prosecution of this guy. I feel like he doesn’t deserve any type of sympathy from anybody.”
Pomona is located about 30 miles east of Los Angeles.
