Elderly Santa Rosa woman gets prison time for DUI fatality

A 77-year-old Santa Rosa woman was sentenced Tuesday to more than seven years in prison for driving under a combination of alcohol and prescription medication and causing the death and injury of two Oakmont women.

Gayle Gray, who had two previous drunken driving convictions, was sentenced for her role in the death of Jackie Simons, 85, and serious injury to Josephine Ross, 91.

The two women were struck by Gray’s car outside an Oakmont market on Jan. 20. Gray told police she mistakenly stepped on the accelerator rather than brake as she pulled out of a parking lot.

“You ran over two people who were walking on the sidewalk. I don’t know if it could get much worse,” said Sonoma County Judge Jamie Thisthlethwaite, who denied probation and sentenced the defendant to seven years and four months in prison.

Both the probation department and the prosecutor sought a slightly longer sentence of eight years, but the judge took into account that Gray pleaded no contest early on to charges of felony vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

Gray blamed the accident on a combination of prescribed medication she was taking and wine that she consumed that morning.

Her blood alcohol level three hours after the crash was 0.05, slightly less than the legal limit of 0.08.

Gray, who had been out on bail after initially being held two days in jail,, was immediately handcuffed and taken into custody following the sentence Tuesday.

With good behavior, she could be out of prison after serving 85 percent of her sentence ,or slightly more than six years.

Check back later for more on this developing story.