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L.A. man sentenced in Irvine woman’s death

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FULLERTON — A 30-year-old Los Angeles man was sentenced last week to 15 years to life in prison for killing an Irvine woman and injuring another during an alcohol-fueled crash on the I-5 Freeway in 2007.

Angel Leal, who has two prior driving-under-the-influence convictions, was driving north in the southbound I-5 lanes in the early morning hours on Dec. 27, 2007, when he crashed head-on into a Toyota Corolla near Disneyland Way in Fullerton.

The driver of the Corolla, 29-year-old Jisun Park, was injured but survived. She also was cited for driving under the influence.

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Her friend — 29-year-old Rebecca Moon of Irvine, who was sitting in the passenger seat — suffered blunt-force trauma to the head and was killed.

According to police reports, Leal’s blood-alcohol level was 0.29% — more than three times times the legal limit.

Leal was convicted in September of second-degree murder rather than the lesser crime of vehicular manslaughter because prosecutors argued that he knew driving drunk could be deadly due to his prior convictions but chose to do so anyway.

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