Drunken-driver to pay $862,118 restitution

By Chris Paschenko , The Daily News Published May 9, 2012

 

GALVESTON — A Galveston woman’s relatives wheeled her into a courtroom Tuesday to hear the guilty plea of a drunken-driver who slammed into her car 18 months ago, leaving her in a semiconscious state.

Relatives of Sarah Hrachovina Coreas, 21, were unsure whether she comprehended the proceeding in which Omar Santana Ortiz, 31, avoided prison but agreed to pay her restitution of $862,118 to cover her medical bills so far.

Ortiz pleaded guilty to a charge of intoxicated assault, stemming from an Oct. 18, 2010, three-car crash at 61st Street and the eastbound lanes of the Interstate 45 frontage road. Ortiz’s blood-alcohol level measured 0.19, more than twice the legal limit, Prosecutor Bill Reed said.

Ortiz received a 10-year prison sentence. In agreement with the plea bargain, which was approved by Coreas’ relatives, Judge Lonnie Cox, of Galveston’s 56th District Court, probated the sentence, giving Ortiz 10 years community supervision.

After the crash, police said Ortiz left the scene and was captured in a swampy area behind a nearby shopping center.

Coreas opened her eyes from a coma nearly a month after the wreck. She remained Tuesday in a semiconscious state and needs constant care at a Galveston nursing home, her mother, Teresa Hrachovina, said.

Coreas doesn’t walk, talk or eat yet, but doctors think she can understand more, Hrachovina said.

“She opens her eyes, and she watches TV,” Hrachovina said. “If something’s funny, she’ll laugh ... If somebody leaves, she’ll cry.”

Coreas’ relatives took the witness stand Tuesday to let Ortiz know how his actions affected everyone and left Coreas confined to a wheelchair. Afterward, Coreas’ relatives wheeled her to the lobby, wondering if she understood the proceeding, Coreas’ sister Arica Angelo said.

“Through the whole thing, she wasn’t crying,” Angelo said. “As soon as we got outside, we said, ‘we love you.’ I said, ‘eh, I love you a little bit’ and she started laughing.”

Kevin Rekoff, Ortiz’s attorney, said in his 25 years of practice, he’d never seen a man so regretful and remorseful.

Coreas’ relatives agreed to the settlement, in which Ortiz must pay $7,184 per month in restitution. Ortiz, who at the time of the crash managed a bar in Spring, must abide by a long list of court-ordered demands, including serving jail time on the weekends for 25 days. He can’t drink alcohol, can’t enter a bar and must drive automobiles with devices that test the driver for alcohol. He also has to attend substance abuse counseling, among other things.

Coreas’ husband, Edwin Coreas, is living with his family while caring for the couple’s toddler, Naomi.

Attorney Darrell A. Apffel filed a lawsuit in January 2011 against Ortiz on behalf of Edwin Coreas, accusing Ortiz of negligence, among other things. A pretrial conference on the case is set for August.

Attorney Douglas C. Clark, who represents Ortiz on the civil matter, was unaware Tuesday of the outcome of Tuesday’s court proceedings. Clark said he didn’t immediately know how Ortiz’s guilty plea would affect the civil case.

The area where the wreck that hurt Coreas occurred was the scene of 20 similar wrecks in 2009. Eastbound drivers on the frontage road reported confusion with the light configuration. The city has since altered the configuration.