A drunk driver who killed an Ocean Beach man was sentenced Sept. 27 to 11 years and eight months in prison after the victim\u2019s family told the judge how much his life meant to them.
\nThe parents, brothers, and friends of Justin Callahan, 35, told San Diego Superior Court Judge Runston Maino about his life, with one telling the driver he would have forgiven her.
\nLauren Ashley Freeman, 24, cried, telling the audience “I would do anything to bring Justin back.”
\nDeputy District Attorney Laura Evans said Freeman\u2019s blood-alcohol level was approximately .28 \u2014 over three times the legal limit. “She was driving the wrong way for almost two miles,” said Evans.
\nFreeman struck Callahan\u2019s Toyota Camry at 1:55 a.m. on Feb. 26, 2018 on a transition ramp between Interstate 8 and I-5 in Ocean Beach. His family said he clocked out at 1:30 a.m. at a Chula Vista business and was almost home.
\nInitially, the California Highway Patrol found Callahan at fault by saying he drove the wrong way, but investigators later determined it was Freeman who was responsible.
\nEvans said Freeman was drinking heavily in an Ocean Beach bar. Her phone contained a selfie of herself there. Evans said she disregarded four signs on the onramp that showed she was driving the wrong way.
\nShe pleaded guilty July 26 to gross vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving with injury to her passenger who had a broken foot and clavicle. A second-degree murder charge was dismissed.
\nLowell Callahan, the victim\u2019s father, told the judge that Scriptures and the Book of Mormon “help us get through when things are tough.
\n“I forgive what she did, but I\u2019m not the final judge,” said Lowell Callahan. “I\u2019m not happy with the plea bargain as I think she should have more time.”
\nTimothy Martin, one of the victim\u2019s brothers, told Freeman he didn\u2019t hate her and added: “I hope you learn to forgive yourself.”
\n“There\u2019s no excuse for getting into a car intoxicated,” said another brother, Tommy Villafranca. “One day I can find forgiveness for (her).”
\n“When he was killed, part of me left,” said his mother, America Callahan. “Justin would always make me laugh. I miss him so much.”
\nAlaina Nims-Pomarede, who described herself as a friend of the victim after she met him at San Diego State University, said he was “one of those rare people you meet in life.”
\nAddressing Freeman, Nims-Pomarede said this: “You will learn from this tragedy and never drink and drive again\u2026 He was very kind. I know he would have forgiven you.”
\n“He was one of those rare people whom you know would be in your life forever,” said Chrystal Ferman, who said she met him in junior high.
\n“I accepted the consequences of my actions,” said Freeman. “My true sentence is to live with this the rest of my life. None of these words will bring Justin back.”
\nHer father, Thomas Freeman, expressed his condolences to the family and friends. “I hope there is some way you\u2019ll find peace,” he said.
\n“She\u2019s accepted responsibility for her crime and she\u2019ll serve her time,” said Thomas Freeman.
\nHer attorney, Philip Shapiro, encouraged the group to “keep his memory alive by doing good acts.”
\nMaino described the 11 years, eight months as “a reasonable sentence.” He ordered Freeman to pay $3,600 in restitution and gave her credit for 379 days in jail she has served.
\nAfterward, the victim\u2019s family members talked with family members and friends of Freeman in the hallway.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A drunk driver who killed an Ocean Beach man was sentenced Sept. 27 to 11 years and eight months in prison after the victim\u2019s family told the judge how much his life meant to them. The parents, brothers, and friends of Justin Callahan, 35, told San Diego Superior Court Judge Runston Maino about his life, […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":264786,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11561","_seopress_titles_title":"Drunk driver who killed an OB man gets 11 years","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[12360,11551,11561],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-264794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-duplicate","category-news","category-peninsula-beacon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}