A man who drove drunk in an SUV and fatally struck a toddler in City Heights with an SUV was convicted Wednesday of murder.
Margarito Angeles Vargas, 47, was found guilty by a San Diego Superior Court jury of striking 19-month-old Annaleeh Rodarte with a Toyota 4Runner about 6:45 p.m. on Sept. 24, 2022.
The girl was crossing Redwood Street about midway down the block with her siblings when she was struck. Annaleeh was taken to a hospital, where she died just after 1 a.m. the following morning.
Prosecutors were able to bring the second-degree murder count — which carries a potential 15-years-to-life prison term — because he had been convicted of drunken driving in 2016.
In the current case, prosecutors alleged that Angeles Vargas had a blood-alcohol level of 0.206 percent, and that in the 2016 case he had a 0.21 percent blood-alcohol level — both of which are more than two times the legal driving limit of 0.08 percent in California.
While jurors also convicted Angeles Vargas of other counts such as gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and hit and run, the trial revolved around whether he should be found guilty of murder, as defense attorney Marie Maloney conceded her client was guilty of the other charges.
Maloney argued at trial that Angeles Vargas was unable to see the girl in the roadway, citing factors such as the girl’s short stature and her client’s vantage point while behind the wheel.
She also said the pothole-riddled roadway on Redwood Street made for bumpy travel that hampered visibility for drivers.
The defense attorney described the collision as “unavoidable” and said the girl entered the street when she was “tragically not visible anymore” from Angeles Vargas’ position.
After striking the girl, Angeles Vargas purchased food from a nearby street vendor and later struck another vehicle stopped at a red light, according to testimony. He was arrested later that day at his home in the Bay Terraces neighborhood.
The prosecutor said Angeles Vargas ran a stop sign just before turning onto Redwood Street and nearly struck a parked truck as he made the turn.
When Annaleeh crossed the road, she was 120 feet from the intersection, giving Angeles Vargas ample time to see her, Deputy District Attorney Hailey Williams said.
