A man who left a 2021 drinking party in Ceres and ended up crashing and killing his passenger on his way home was convicted recently, Stanislaus County District Attorney Jeff Laugero announced last week.

Jorge David Cardenas, 33, of Turlock was convicted of felony vehicular manslaughter in the death of his passenger, Erika Navarro. Cardenas also admitted having a previous conviction for robbery under California’s “Three Strikes” Law.

Deputy District Attorneys Michael Scheid and Ney Montenegro prosecuted the case. 

Cardenas and Navarro were at a June 23, 2021 gathering in Ceres where Cardenas drank alcoholic beverages. Cardenas left intoxicated early the next morning at and was speeding northbound on Oakdale Road in Modesto at approximately 2 a.m. He ran the red light at Scenic Avenue and lost control and collided with a pickup traveling in the opposite direction near Country Court and Oakdale Road.

Modesto Police officers found Cardenas unconscious and Navarro fatally injured seat.

Cardenas showed objective signs of intoxication. Cardenas admitted speeding and spinning out of control before the collision. The Department of Justice tested a sample of Cardenas’ blood which showed he had a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of 0.09 percent at 4:19 a.m. An expert criminalist for the DOJ calculated Cardenas’ BAC would have been 0.13 percent at the time of the crash.