Victim’s family furious at 4-year DUI sentencing

The drunk driver in a March 23 crash that killed his Huntington Beach passenger has pleaded guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. But friends and family of victim Michael Kazak are furious at what they call a weak sentence.

Robert Lee Hoover, 33, of Huntington Beach, pleaded guilty to the charge in exchange for a sentence of four years in state prison, Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Mestman said. With time off for good behavior, Hoover could be out of prison in two years.

On the night of March 23, Hoover was driving his Mercedes-Benz at nearly 100 mph on Warner Avenue when he lost control and hit a tree with the passenger side of his car, according to prosecutors. Hoover had a .21 blood alcohol concentration, nearly three times the legal limit, Mestman said.

Family members stated they felt justice wasn’t being served by a sentence as short as four years.

“Why bother having a law against drinking and driving if no material punishment comes of it?” Kazak’s sister, Michelle Kazak-Piechowski, asked in a statement.

— Michael Alexander