Oakdale man sentenced to prison in DUI crash that killed one person, injured two

An Oakdale man was sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison after pleading no contest to charges stemming from a crash that killed one person and injured two others in 2019, authorities said.

Timothy Sanders, now 32, went to a bar on north McHenry Avenue Dec. 20, 2019, when he got drunk and was eventually kicked out for inappropriate behavior, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s office said in a news release.

He got into his truck to leave and hit another vehicle in the parking lot, then drove away at high speed.

Driving into Riverbank, Sanders ran a red light and struck another vehicle being driven by 54-year-old Michael Knittel. Knittel’s car then hit another car with three occupants. Knittel was killed and two other people were injured and taken to the hospital.

Sanders had a blood alcohol content of 0.18 % at the time, more than twice the legal limit, prosecutors said. On April 26, Sanders pleaded no contest to all charges. He was sentenced June 29 after members of Knittel’s family spoke about the impact his death has had on their lives.

This story was originally published July 12, 2021 at 4:00 AM.