VISTA — A Vista woman who struck and seriously injured a 71-year-old cyclist with her car while she was transporting a group of undocumented immigrants was sentenced today to three years and five months in federal prison.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Elizabeth Ugarte Rios, 38, picked up a group of migrants who had climbed over a border fence last Aug. 4.
While driving with the migrants and her juvenile daughter in the car, Rios traveled at nearly twice the speed limit along Wueste Road, a two-lane highway in Chula Vista, and crossed the double-yellow line to pass a vehicle, according to prosecutors.
Though she applied the brakes, her car struck cyclist Robert Hilborn at around 30 mph. The impact left him hospitalized for more than two months from injuries that included multiple strokes, lacerations and orthopedic injuries, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Rios pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal count related to the transportation of aliens that also resulted in causing someone serious bodily injury.
