137 Years For DUI

DRUNKEN DRIVER GETS 137 YEARS FOR 9 CRASH VICTIMS

Wednesday, July 17, 1996

By: Associated Press

A drunken driver got nine prison terms for nine lives lost in a flaming freeway accident on Father's Day 1995. The total sentence for Teodolo Bermudes was 137 years, eight months, without chance of parole. ''When I first learned the details of this case, I was heartsick over it,'' Superior Court Judge J. Thompson Hanks said when handing down the sentence Monday. ''He killed a whole family. It's beyond tragic.''

Bermudes was convicted last month on nine counts of second-degree murder for causing a wreck on Highway 60 near the junction with Interstate 10 outside Beaumont.

The family of Jose Rodriguez and Mercedes Diaz de Rodriguez, packed into a 1968 Plymouth Valiant, was struck from behind by Bermudes' fast-moving Ford pickup. Witnesses said the truck had been weaving. The Valiant flipped and burst into flames.

Bermudes kept going but was arrested in nearby Banning. The parents and a small daughter were pulled from the burning car, but the girl died from burns a month later. Four of the Rodriguez children, three grandchildren, their adult daughter and the father of two grandchildren were killed.

Witnesses testified that Bermudes had been drinking all day and had enough alcohol in his blood to equal 10 to 12 beers. Hanks said he owed the Rodriguez family equal punishment for every life lost. The parents weren't in court Monday.

Bermudes got 15 years to life for each death, plus two years, eight months for six related felony and misdemeanor drunken driving charges. ''With all due respect, I have asked for forgiveness five times,'' said Bermudes, 36, a landscaper from Cathedral City. ''Not so that charges be removed or punishment lightened. In public, I am regretful for what I have done.'' ''He is a decent, conscientious, hard-working fellow,'' said Bermudes' attorney, Deputy Public Defender Frank Scott. ''But he is an alcoholic.''

Prosecutor Creg Datig told the judge Bermudes was a threat because he couldn't seem to control the urge to drive while intoxicated. Bermudes had two previous drunken driving arrests.

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