OAKLAND -- A former law student who testified she was forced to drive drunk was sentenced Friday to seven years in state prison for running over a pedestrian, sending him into a coma, in a hit-and-run outside an Oakland bar in 2013.

Meghan Zato, 28, of Oakland, stood up and apologized to the victim James Roda, 28, before Judge Allan Hymer announced her punishment. Roda suffers from brain damage and seizures, and is legally blind as a result of being struck by Zato's vintage Mercedes-Benz sedan at 14th Street and Madison streets early Oct. 5, 2013.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to hurt you. I'm sorry that wasn't understood earlier," said Zato, who has been accused by the prosecutor and Roda's supporters of being unremorseful.

Meghan Zato, the suspect in a hit-and-run and assault with a deadly weapon case, seen in an undated police photograph. (Courtesy Oakland Police Department) ( Laura Oda )

Zato was a first-year student at the UC Hastings College of Law when, on the night of the incident, she was kicked out of The Ruby Room bar for being belligerently drunk and harassing other patrons.

She and two male friends were walking to her car when they got into a confrontation with a group of young men that led to her being punched in the face twice and robbed of her cellphone. The confrontation started when one of Zato's friends made a comment about a man writing on the library's retaining wall. He was then assaulted and chased away by the vandal, who turned his aggression on Zato when she threatened to call police.

Defense attorney Meghan Burns argued that Zato drove drunk under duress to get away from the menacing crowd and that hitting Roda, who had just left the The Ruby Room, was a tragic accident.


"The reality is that she found herself in a terrifying situation where she had limited choice," Burns said Friday.

Prosecutor Adam Maldonado argued that Zato made a U-turn to aggressively drive down a street she knew to be crowded because she felt justified after her attack. Had she gone straight, she would have gotten away from the crowd and been home in five minutes.

Roda was hit when Zato crossed the double yellow line into the wrong side of the street. Of the numerous people who witnessed Roda's head shatter the windshield, one man got into his own truck chased Zato around Lake Merritt until Oakland police caught up with them.

Zato, whose blood alcohol content was estimated at .24 percent, three times the legal limit, was verbally abusive to officers in audio and video recordings played at the trial. Maldonado pointed out to jurors that she never asked about Roda's condition, nor did she make the same claims of duress and fear that she did on the witness stand.

Roda's girlfriend Arlene Barboza and his mother, Theresa Roda, described in court Friday the emotional toll the Roda's injuries and ongoing recovery has had on him and his loved ones. He was credited for his bravery and dignity in meeting the challenges of starting life over with disabilities and few memories of his life beforehand.

"He is a survivor," Barboza said. "He still will have hope, love and memories -- new memories."

Burns asked the judge to consider a year in jail, time in a residential treatment program, and 10 years of strict probation and an alternative to prison time for the first-time offender. Hymer had the discretion to sentence her up to 10 years.

"I do believe she is remorseful," Hymer said. "I watched when Mr. Roda had a seizure in court and I saw Ms. Zato afterward. The tears were pouring down her face."

Contact Malaika Fraley at 925-234-1684. Follow her at Twitter.com/malaikafraley.