SANTA CRUZ – Violeta Cervantes, 30, of Watsonville was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Tuesday in the death of Scott Brunton and fleeing the seen of a wreck, according to Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office.
During a hearing attended by Brunton’s family, Assistant District Attorney Alex Byers said the “defendant is being held fully accountable for her actions and decisions.”
Cervantes was under the influence of Valium and methadone at 8:40 p.m. Dec. 11, 2016, when she struck and killed Brunton who was biking with a friend on Freedom Boulevard, Byers said.
“Upon contact, Cervantes was uncooperative and displayed objective symptoms of drug intoxication and during the investigation, she ‘nodded off’ or fell asleep,” Byers said. “She has a history of abusing controlled substances and was a patient at a local methadone clinic at the time of this tragedy.”
She also was on probation for several misdemeanor offenses, including a 2014 conviction in Monterey County for driving while impaired, Byers said.
“Our office feels that justice has truly been served for the victim and his family and that our community will be safer as a result of this sentence,” Byers said.
