SALT LAKE CITY — A woman who pleaded guilty to automobile homicide in a November 2017 incident received her sentence Friday.
A judge sentenced 28-year-old Roxanna Molina to one to 15 years in Utah State Prison for an automobile homicide charge and zero to five years for a charge of failure to remain at the scene of an accident involving a death.
The sentences are to be served consecutively, and Molina will receive credit for the time she has already spent behind bars – approximately one year.
Molina pleaded guilty to the charges, both felonies, in June after she hit and killed 19-year-old Robert Harsh at an intersection in Taylorsville.
In Utah, the crime of automobile homicide is one in which a driver operates a motor vehicle in a negligent manner and causes the death of another person while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
Harsh was using a crosswalk at 4200 S Redwood Rd. when he was struck. A police report said Molina may have been traveling as high as 94 miles per hour when the Escalade she was driving struck Harsh.
Harsh was thrown 324 feet – about the length of a football field.
According to a probable cause statement in support of Molina’s arrest, she admitted to consuming approximately five shots of liquor and four beers prior to the accident that evening. A blood draw and preliminary toxicology report indicated Molina’s blood alcohol content was .17 percent – more than twice the legal limit.
Molina was ordered to pay $12,390 in restitution to the victim’s family in addition to court fines.
