In this March 2018 photo released by the Huntington Beach Police Department shows Bani Duarte of San Clemente, Calif. Duarte who caused a fiery Southern California crash that killed three Las Vegas teenagers on spring break was sentenced in Orange County, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, to 51 years to life in prison. She was convicted last year of second-degree murder in the March 2018 crash on the scenic Pacific Coast Highway. (Huntington Beach Police Department via AP)
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A drunken driver who caused a fiery Southern California crash that killed three Las Vegas teenagers on spring break was sentenced Thursday to 51 years to life in prison.
Bani Duarte, 29, of San Clemente was sentenced in Orange County. She was convicted of second-degree murder in the March 2018 crash on the scenic Pacific Coast Highway.
After a night of drinking, Duarte’s speeding car rear-ended the teenagers’ car, which was stopped at a red light on the highway in Huntington Beach, prosecutors said.
That car burst into flames, killing the 17- and 18-year-olds at the scene.
They were identified by family members and friends as Brooke Hawley, Dyland Mack and A.J. Rossi, KABC-TV reported. They were students at Centennial High School in Las Vegas.
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