The driver of the car that crashed Monday near Woodland, killing a 10-year-old girl and leaving his baby son in critical condition, has two prior convictions for driving under the influence, Yolo County court records show.

Arnold Barraza, 25, of Woodland, pleaded no contest in May 2005 to a misdemeanor charge of driving with a blood-alcohol content at or above the legal limit and was sentenced to 201 days in custody, according to the records.

In the criminal complaint in that case, Yolo County prosecutors cited Barraza’s March 2000 conviction for DUI in Tulare County.

Barraza, who has spent time in state prison, has a string of criminal convictions that include assault, attempted car theft and resisting a law enforcement officer with the use of force, records indicate.

California Highway Patrol officials said Tuesday they are waiting for blood-test results to determine whether he was under the influence when the Mazda 3 sedan he was driving spun out of control and flipped.

Officers who responded to the crash reported an odor of alcohol. Excessive speed is also being looked at as a factor in the 1:19 p.m. crash.

CHP officers estimated the car was going about 85 mph when it rolled into a grassy ditch along County Road 22, which parallels Interstate 5 and becomes Main Street in Woodland.

The CHP said in a news release Tuesday that none of the three children in the car was protected by safety restraints. All were thrown from the car.

The two adults – Barraza and passenger Cirena Martinez, 28, of Woodland – were wearing safety belts and were not ejected, officers said.

The CHP said both adults suffered major injuries and were taken to UC Davis Medical Center.

The hospital listed Martinez in fair condition Tuesday night, but staff said they had no records for Barraza. His location could not be immediately determined by The Bee.

Family members identified the 10-year-old girl, pronounced dead at the scene, as Destiny Martinez-Gonzalez. They described her as a loving,energetic girl who enjoyed church and attended Tafoya Elementary in Woodland.

Her sister, 4-year-old Elise Gonzalez, suffered major injuries, according to the CHP. She was discharged from the medical center Tuesday, hospital staff said.

Martinez is the mother of the two girls and Barraza’s girlfriend, members of her family said.

The 1-year-old boy, identified as Arnold Barraza Jr., was listed Tuesday in critical condition at the medical center.

The baby’s mother is from Tulare, where Barraza used to live.

At the time of the deadly crash, Barraza, Martinez and the three children were returning from Tulare, where they had picked up the man’s infant son for a visit, family members said.

Heading west on the county road, they were nearly home.

A woman who identified herself as the baby’s mother but declined to give her name, waited at the medical center’s pediatrics intensive-care unit Tuesday.

She said Arnold Barraza, the boy’s father, had picked up their son and a car seat from her brother’s home in Tulare on Sunday and promised to return the boy by Thanksgiving.

She said Arnold Jr. is a healthy baby who had just started to crawl and “talk a little.” When hospital staff called her to inform her of the accident, “I was just crying,” she said.

“I don’t even really know what happened,” she said. “I just want him to get better.”

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 at 9:51 pm and is filed under California DUI News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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