Woman involved in deadly accident sentenced

Greg Risling

A woman whose car struck and killed a 36-year-old Costa Mesa service

station attendant while she was driving under the influence was sentenced

to six years in state prison last week.

Gayle Johnson, 46, of Chino Hills was found guilty of vehicular

manslaughter and could have faced a 10-year maximum sentence. The judge,

after weighing Johnson’s driving record, decided for the six-year

sentence, still considerably stronger than the 22-month alcohol

rehabilitation program her defense attorney requested.

Johnson rammed into the back of a car driven by Jamal Agzour, who was

returning home from his job at a Chevron gas station in Corona del Mar.

Johnson was traveling about 60 mph when she hit the victim’s car, which

was waiting for a stop light at the intersection of MacArthur Boulevard

and San Joaquin Hills Road. Her blood alcohol level was reportedly .31 --

nearly four times the state’s legal limit for driving under the

influence.

Agzour suffered major head injuries and languished in a coma for

several days before succumbing to his injuries. He was survived by a wife

and a 17-month-old son.

The judge Tuesday accounted for Johnson’s checkered past when he

rendered her sentence. Johnson was arrested and convicted for a

hit-and-run accident in Seal Beach last year. In that case, Johnson

failed to yield at a stop sign and sideswiped two vehicles. She also was

cited for disturbing the peace, a charge that had been reduced from drunk

in public.

That’s why the request of Johnson’s attorney for the rehab program

sentence fell on deaf ears and the judge felt it necessary to impose a

jail sentence.

“It was a pretty heavy sentence, but not heavy enough when someone

dies in a case like this,” said Orange County Deputy District Attorney

Tony Ferrentino, who prosecuted the case. “Obviously she had prior

conduct that should have stopped her but she kept going. She had an

alcohol problem and disregarded the life of the victim.”