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 California man has been sentenced after driving under the influence led to a tragic accident that claimed the lives of three women who were on their way back from a baby shower.
Victor Siharath, aged 37, received a sentence of 30 years to life in prison on Thursday. This ruling comes after the fatal accident that resulted in the deaths of Yesenia Ochoa Olaez, 33, Lorena Morales, 58, and Alejandra Olaez, 33, as reported by local news, including Fox affiliate KTTV. Earlier this month, he entered a plea of no contest to charges of three counts of second-degree murder and DUI causing injury.
As noted by Law&Crime, the tragic event occurred on March 2, 2024, at around 11 p.m. when the women were returning from a family gathering. Siharath’s SUV ran a red light and collided with the side of their vehicle. Footage obtained by Los Angeles-based ABC affiliate KABC captured the harrowing collision which sent the women’s car spinning out of control.
The collision was fatal for the women, and two others — Morales’ husband and Alejandra Olaez’s 12-year-old daughter — sustained “serious injuries,” according to the Pomona Police Department. Siharath was found to be intoxicated at the time, leading to his arrest and subsequent charges of second-degree murder and DUI.
Footage from another local station, The CW affiliate KTLA, depicted the severe damage inflicted on the victims’ sedan. The car’s driver’s side was crushed, with the front left wheel almost detached. Siharath’s vehicle also suffered significant damage, with an almost dislodged front right wheel, illustrating the severe destruction typical of 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.
