You could look at Danny Espinoza and feel a trifle sorry for him. The man is paralyzed from his neck down, and can’t eat, sit up, or do any of the things we take for granted without help. All he does all day is lie in bed, being fed and cared for by his caregiver and his mother. Until you realize that this man killed a woman taking part in what was most probably a street race.

Danny is waiting to be sentenced in a vehicular manslaughter case arising from his accident two years ago that killed 69-year-old Dorothy Anne Walter, and left the 25-year-old engineer paralyzed, due to a spinal cord injury.

On the evening of March 5, 2006, Danny, a Bakersfield resident, celebrated his birthday with his parents, and then left for home. He was in his Ford Mustang, and was stopped at a red light. Waiting at the traffic signal was a Porsche and a Corvette. Although the police haven’t been able to piece together the exact chain of events, this much is clear. When the light tuned green, the three cars, including Danny’s Mustang, revved up their speed, and sped off down the road. The police suspect and the prosecution claims, that this was the beginning of a street race. Danny’s car reached 90 mph. Coming up in the opposite direction was Walters. As they approached, Danny lost control of his car and hit a tree. He then careened across the lanes and hit Walter’s car. The damage to her car was so extensive; she had to be extricated by paramedic personnel using the Jaws of Life. She was taken to a hospital, where she died about an hour later.

As for Danny, he ended up in his wrecked car with the seat belt wound tightly around his neck. His heart stopped, and he spent the next month in a hospital, oblivious to the world around him in a deep coma. When he emerged from the coma a month later, he remembered nothing of the accident and nothing of at least 4 months prior to the accident. He was diagnosed as quadriplegic because of his severe spinal cord injuries, and now relies on round the clock care for his needs. He uses special blow and suck devices to use his computer mouse, play World of Warcraft games and chat on forums.

This is where you begin to stop feeling sorry for Espinoza.

Dorothy Walters can’t go chatting on online forums. She can’t play World of Warcraft, even if she wanted to. She can’t chat with her family, can’t hug them, can’t hold them, will never be able to say goodbye to them the way everybody does, and all this because Danny Espinoza took it on himself to use his car as a weapon, and the street as his battleground. We can’t feel sorry for every person who gets injured in an accident that they cause themselves by their stupidity. That’s like saying a homicidal maniac can go on a shooting rampage, then shoot himself in the foot and expect sympathy and special treatment.

The prosecution and Walter’s family has been vocal about seeking the full six-year sentence for Danny. We hope they get their wish.

If you have been injured in a car accident, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury attorney. Contact a lawyer at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.