Modesto man sentenced to 15 years in prison for deadly hit-and-run
A 29-year-old man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for hitting a woman with his car on McHenry Avenue in Modesto and leaving before authorities arrived.
Modesto police said officers found George Matthew Barbosa drunk at his nearby home. The pedestrian he hit with his car, Becky Reynolds, was taken by ambulance to a hospital where she died shortly after.
Barbosa initially was charged with murder, vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated, and hit-and-run resulting in death.
State law allows prosecutors to file a murder charge when a suspected drunken driver has a previous conviction for driving under the influence. Barbosa had a DUI conviction in 2010.
The defendant agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors. On Oct. 27, Barbosa pleaded guilty to felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated, and he admitted to an enhancement of fleeing the scene of the crime. Prosecutors agreed to drop the murder and hit-and-run charges.
Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Thomas Zeff sentenced Barbosa on Dec. 15, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday.
Reynolds was struck about 9 p.m. May 3, 2014. She was walking across McHenry near Bowen Avenue in north Modesto. Prosecutors said Barbosa stopped only briefly before driving away.
Police said Barbosa headed south on McHenry and hit a car about block away from where he hit Reynolds. The other driver suffered minor injuries, police said.
Barbosa then got out of his car and walked to his home in the 1700 block of Ruby Lane, less than a mile southeast of where Reynolds was hit.
Prosecutors said Barbosa’s blood-alcohol content was 0.21 percent, more than twice the legal limit.
Deputy District Attorney Anthony Colacito prosecuted the case against Barbosa. The prosecutor’s job is funded by a grant from state Office of Traffic Safety to prosecute DUI offenses, particularly by repeat offenders.
This story was originally published December 21, 2015 at 3:13 PM with the headline "Modesto man sentenced to 15 years in prison for deadly hit-and-run."