Cesar Lua, 39, of Modesto, was sentenced to 16 months in state prison for a conviction of felony driving with a .08 percent or more alcohol level causing injury.

The sentence was handed down Sept. 8 in Stanislaus County Superior Court before Judge Marie Silveira.

Lua was driving eastbound on Hatch Road at 9:20 p.m. on June 9 when he rear-ended a vehicle stopped to make a turn onto Mountain View Road. The crash caused minor to moderate injuries to the two occupants. Lua got out of his vehicle and was seen throwing beer cans into the TID main canal and walking off toward an orchard. After sleeping for a while, Lua returned to the scene about two hours later when a witness contacted the California Highway Patrol, leading to his apprehension and arrest.

Lua was investigated for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol by a CHP officer. Lua was given two breath tests after 1 a.m. and found with a Blood Alcohol Concentration of 0.23 percent and 0.25 percent.

At the time of the crash Lua had failed to appear in court for two misdemeanor driving with a .08 percent or more BAC cases stemming from March 8, 2015 and March 16, 2015 incidents. He was also convicted of those crimes on September 8, 2016 and will serve 120-day sentences for those offenses while in state prison.

He was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Anthony Colacito working under a grant funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.