California man sentenced for crash that killed girlfriend

Publish date: 2024-07-05

A 25-year-old California man has been sentenced to 11 years in a state prison in connection to a deadly crash that killed his girlfriend one day before her college graduation.

Giovanni Guzman pleaded no contest in early April to a felony charge of voluntary manslaughter in the death of 23-year-old Yadira Alvarez.

The plea deal was struck while jurors were deliberating following a two-week trial.

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Justice for Yadira: Giovanni Guzman, 25, has been sentenced to 11 years in state prison in the June 2016 crash that killed his girlfirend, Yadira Alvarez, on the ve of her graduation 

Justice for Yadira: Giovanni Guzman, 25, has been sentenced to 11 years in state prison in the June 2016 crash that killed his girlfirend, Yadira Alvarez, on the ve of her graduation 

Horrific impact: Prosecutors said Guzman got behind the wheel of his blue 2013 Chevy Camaro with a blood alcohol content nearly twice the legal limit and smashed it into a median in Los Angeles, causing the vehicle to split   

Horrific impact: Prosecutors said Guzman got behind the wheel of his blue 2013 Chevy Camaro with a blood alcohol content nearly twice the legal limit and smashed it into a median in Los Angeles, causing the vehicle to split   

According to statement from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, on the evening of June 9, 2016, Guzman and Alvarez had dinner in downtown Los Angeles to celebrate the boyfriend's birthday.

After dinner, the pair, who had only recently gotten back together after a year-long breakup, headed to a bar in Paramount, where Guzman consumed alcohol, according to the prosecutor.

On the way home, Guzman was driving. During the car ride, he and Alvarez got into a fight and the boyfriend pulled over on Somerset Boulevard at around 3am.

A passing driver noticed that Alvarez appeared to be in distress and stopped to help, but Guzman told him to mind his own business and leave them alone.

'Sensing something was not right, the man came back around to Guzman’s car and noticed the couple were fighting outside of their vehicle,' the press release' from the DA's office stated.

Guzman and Alvarez, who had only recently reunited after a breakup, were fighting on the car ride home, which ended with the crash  

Guzman and Alvarez, who had only recently reunited after a breakup, were fighting on the car ride home, which ended with the crash  

Alvarez was ejected from the mangled vehicle and died at the scene, just a block from her grandmother's house 

Alvarez was ejected from the mangled vehicle and died at the scene, just a block from her grandmother's house 

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The Good Samaritan pulled over again, caught Guzman's attention and warned him he was going to call police. As the man dialed 911, he heard the screeching of tires and seconds later saw Guzman's blue 2013 Chevrolet Camaro smash into a median.

Alvarez was a criminology major at UC Irvine; she and Guzxman had been in a relationship for nearly a decade 

Alvarez was a criminology major at UC Irvine; she and Guzxman had been in a relationship for nearly a decade 

Alvarez was ejected from the front passenger seat on impact, which tore the car in two. She was pronounced dead on the scene, just a block away from her grandmother's house, reported Fox 11 at the time.

The collision was so powerful that Alvarez's body parts were later found on both sides of Somerset Boulevard. A TV news report showed one of her white pumps resting on the roadway, surrounded by twisted car parts and debris.

Guzman was taken to a hospital suffering from injuries. His blood alcohol level was measured at nearly twice the legal limit.

Four days later, Guzman was arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter.

He and Alvarez had been in a relationship for nearly 10 years prior to their split a year before the crash.

NBC Los Angeles reported Alvarez lost her life just one day before she was expected to graduate from University of California Irvine with a degree in criminology and become the first in her family to receive a college diploma.

In the days leading up to the graduation, Yadira hired a professional photographer to take pictures of her posing with her blue-and-gold UC graduation sash and tassle.

Yadira’s family attended the commencement ceremony the next day after her death, but instead of seeing the 23-year-old ascend the stage to accept her diploma, they sat in the audience, with Yadira’s sister wearing the deceased woman's cap, lovingly decorated with the words, 'thx mom & dad.' 

Family's pride and joy: Alvarez, pictured with her parents and siblings at a birthday party, was expected to become the first in her family to graduate from college a day after her death 

Family's pride and joy: Alvarez, pictured with her parents and siblings at a birthday party, was expected to become the first in her family to graduate from college a day after her death 

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