San Diego

‘A Crumpled Heap': DUI Suspect in Bloody Hit-And-Run Allegedly Had Blood-Alcohol Twice Legal Limit 2 Hours After Crash

Police say Esteysi Sanchez Izazaga, 29, drove her car onto the sidewalk and hit the victim at random

A woman accused of killing a pedestrian in a bloody hit-and-run and then driving for half a mile with his body lodged in the front seat had a blood alcohol level more than double the legal limit two hours after the crash, prosecutors said. 

Esteysi Sanchez Izazaga, 29, who goes by Stacy Sanchez, pleaded not guilty to four felonies, including gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, hit and run, driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury, driving with a measurable blood alcohol causing injury and a misdemeanor count of driving without a license. 

A judge set her bail at $1.5 million. 

On Monday, June 27, Sanchez was allegedly driving under the influence when she veered onto the sidewalk on the 4000 block of Mission Avenue in Oceanside and hit victim Jack Tenhulzen at random, police said. 

Prosecutors say Sanchez was driving so fast, she hit Tenhulzen and stripped him of his clothing. Tenhulzen flew into the windshield, head down, coming to a rest on the front passenger seat, police said on scene. 

"He went head first through her windshield, landing in a crumpled heap on her passenger seat," Aimee McLeod, a San Diego County Deputy District Attorney, said.

Two hours after the crash, prosecutors said she had a blood alcohol level of 0.18-0.19, more than double the legal limit. 

Tenhulzen's leg detached from his body and flew through the back window, landing on the trunk of the car, police said. 

Izazaga continued driving for approximately half a mile, police said. She parked the vehicle and walked away before officers arrived, police said.

"She claimed she fell asleep and only woke up when she felt glass covering her face and saw this dead person in the passenger seat," McLeod said.

Shortly after she abandoned the car, prosecutors say Sanchez called her boyfriend, walked home and changed her outfit. 

"She wasn't contacted by law enforcement for an hour," McLeod said. "At that time, she had changed her clothing and she still had pieces of windshield in her hair."

Police say her live-in boyfriend at some point called the police and reported the incident, police said. Officers found her at her house, approximately two blocks from where she left the car. 

McLeod said the crash was a tragedy. 

"It's horrible, it's tragic, it's preventable," she said. "Any driver on our roadways should be driving sober and any driver who is involved in a collision should be pulling over to render aid to someone they hit or any property damage they cause. so someone who fails to do all those things, it's a catastrophe."

Sanchez is expected to appear in court on July 19. She faces 15 years and six months in prison. 

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone who witnessed the collision or has information is asked to call the Oceanside Police Department at (760) 435-4911.

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