Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Traffic Enforcement

Couple Who Ran Down USC Student and Ran Off Get Maximum Sentence

4_1_09_ap.jpgAdrian Bachan's mother grieves at a memorial held in April of 2009. Photo via Associated Press

Last March, Claudia Cabrera was speeding through South L.A. with her boyfriend at her side and their seven month old in the back seat.  After a couple of drinks, Cabrera failed to notice a pair of USC students legally crossing the street and crashed into them with her car.  Adrian Bachan was killed instantly, while her companion, Marcus Garfinkle, was stuck on the windshield of the car with numerous injuries including two broken legs.  Cabrera stopped her car briefly so she could dislodge Garfinkle before speeding off.

Earlier today, a judge handed down eight and seven year jail sentences to Cabrera and her former boyfriend, Josue Luna respectively.  The sentences were the maximum that either could get under law.  On one hand, it's good to see the maximum sentence handed down.  On the other hand, this is a pair of hit and runs that mangled one victim and killed another and the most they could get is seven or eight years?

The Times' LA_Now blog has the rest of the details from today's proceedings.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

This Week In Livable Streets

ICE protests, Metro NoHo-Pasadena BRT meetings, Metro Sepulveda Transit meetings, and more

July 14, 2025

Koreatown Community Rallies To Reclaim Our Streets From ICE Terror

"This is an attack on Los Angeles. This is an attack on California. On all of us."

July 11, 2025

Give Input on Metro Sepulveda Rail Plan to connect Valley and Westside

Metro is still deciding between some low-performing monorail alternatives and some high-performing heavy rail alternatives. What do you want to see?

July 10, 2025
See all posts