Leonardo Rodriguez of Pico Rivera was sentenced to five years and four months in state prison for killing Serenity Rizkalla and Michael Estrella in an early morning, high-speed crash on Highway 101 in 2024.
Rodriguez pled guilty to two felony counts of gross vehicular manslaughter on June 25 this year, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
Rodriguez was driving a black Honda Accord southbound on Highway 101, north of Wendy Drive, at roughly 124 mph when he attempted to pass a vehicle in the slow lane by using the shoulder, according to local prosecutors.
A tractor-trailer was parked on the same shoulder at the time, and the Honda Accord’s front passenger side collided with the rear left section of the halted tractor-trailer, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
Rodriguez’s girlfriend, Serenity Rizkalla, was in the front passenger seat of the Honda Accord at the time of the collision, and Rodriguez’s friend, Michael Estrella, was in the right rear passenger seat. The impact ejected both passengers from the vehicle, according to the local prosecutor’s office.
Both ejected passengers were pronounced dead on the spot, but a third passenger, seated behind Rodriguez, survived the incident and was treated for minor injuries, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
Rodriguez suffered minor injuries as a result of the incident, according to local prosecutors.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, the collision was filmed on a neighboring dashboard camera, and there was no evidence that drinking or drugs contributed to the deadly accident.
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