A 29-year-old Oceanside woman suspected of driving drunk and fatally striking a pedestrian, then driving nearly a mile away with his body wedged in her car, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Vista Superior Court.

Esteysi “Stacy” Sanchez, 29, is charged with felony DUI, felony hit-and-run and gross vehicular manslaughter. She doesn’t have a driver’s license, according to the complaint filed against her.

Deputy District Attorney Aimee McLeod said Sanchez was given a sobriety test two hours after the crash Monday that showed her blood alcohol level was about 0.18, or more than twice the legal limit. McLeod said the victim — later identified as 69-year-old Jack Ray Tenhulzen — was hit so hard that some of his clothes came off his body.

“It’s terrible, it’s tragic and it was preventable,” McLeod said.


Throughout Wednesday’s proceedings, a somber-faced Sanchez — wearing a blue prison jumpsuit — sat on a chair looking down. A group of her friends and family, some of whom were weeping outside the courtroom after the arraignment, declined to talk to reporters.

Police say Sanchez was driving east on Mission Avenue just west of Academy Road about 6:20 a.m. Monday when she ran off the road and hit Tenhulzen, who was walking on the sidewalk. The impact sent the man through the windshield and partly onto the passenger seat.

McLeod said Sanchez told police that she had been drinking at two establishments before the crash. She also said that she fell asleep and woke up only after she felt pieces of the shattered windshield glass hit her face.

Sanchez continued driving until she arrived at Magdalena Drive, near Avenida Del Gado, then parked and walked away from the scene, authorities said.


Neighbors summoned police. They said Sanchez looked as if she had been out all night, wearing a black dress and high-heeled shoes.

When officers arrived on the scene, they discovered the body in the passenger’s seat with “obvious major injuries,” Oceanside police spokesman Ryan Keim said. Tenhulzen was pronounced dead after paramedics arrived.

Keim said police also received a call Monday morning from Sanchez’s live-in boyfriend, who reported the incident. Officers went to a home on Avenida Del Gado, just two blocks from where the vehicle was found, and arrested her.

By the time police arrived, Sanchez had changed her clothes but still had pieces of glass in her hair, McLeod said.


On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge James Mangione kept Sanchez’ bail at $1.5 million. She also has an immigration hold, which means that if she were to be released she would be turned over to immigration authorities to determine whether she may be deported.