Deadly Livermore DUI Crash: Woman Gets 15 Years To Life

LIVERMORE, CA — A Livermore woman learned she will spend 15 years to life behind bars on murder convictions in the drunken driving deaths of two young Tri-Valley women on Stanley Boulevard four years ago.

Lauren A. Davis, 30, was sentenced Tuesday by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Michael Gaffey.

She will receive nearly four years' credit for time already served in Santa Rita Jail and pay at least $7,500 in restitution for funeral expenses, he said.

Davis was placed in the custody of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which will transport her to the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla and eventually determine whether Davis will be released on parole, said Matthew Gaidos, who prosecuted the case on behalf of the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.

Davis pleaded no contest in September to two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Violet Campbell, 16, of Pleasanton and Alexys "Lexy" Garcia, 25, of Livermore in a single-car crash the night before Thanksgiving 2017.

Davis said in court Tuesday that she accepted responsibility and wished "I could trade places with them and bring them back." No words could "express how truly sorry I am," she said.

She told the court that she turned to alcohol and cannabis to cope with a toxic relationship that took over her life.

"I would give anything to take back what happened that day. It tears me to pieces that I can't, and it kills me every day," Davis said.

Davis' file was filled with "very compelling letters" submitted on behalf of Campbell and Lexy Garcia, Gaffey said. It was probably the biggest he had seen in his 15-year judicial career, he said.

"There's no joy today, but I think that Violet and Lexy would want you all to experience joy in the future," he said.

It was Davis's third case in which she pleaded guilty to charges related to driving under the influence.

Lexy Garcia's mother, Kinga Garcia, was relieved to know Davis would be off of the streets for a while longer, she told Patch in an email. Patch was unable to reach a family member of Campbell.

A Thanksgiving Tragedy

Davis drove on the night of the crash after smoking cannabis, taking whiskey shots, drinking beer and having another drink inside a bar, prosecutors said. The night started at a bowling alley and continued at two Livermore bars, prosecutors said.

A blood test taken hours after Davis' arrest showed she had a blood alcohol content of 0.16 percent, twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent. She also tested positive for cannabis, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Davis ran a red light, drove 70 to 80 mph and struck a curb while driving a car full of people, prosecutors said. The crash came after she lost control of her blue Kia SUV, which veered off the right side of Stanley Boulevard and rolled multiple times until it stopped on the railroad tracks, the CHP said.

Campbell was seated behind Davis and died instantly after being partially ejected, prosecutors said. Lexy Garcia was also ejected and died a week later while hospitalized in a medically induced coma for major head injuries, a broken pelvis and broken bones.

Davis removed herself from the wreckage. Kyle Munoz, a then-18-year-old passenger, suffered a fractured right wrist. Kyle Munoz's brother, Kevin Munoz, a then-22-year-old passenger, suffered a nasal fracture and a right pulmonary contusion, according to the CHP.

Kyle Munoz, who was dating Campbell at the time, told the court that Davis showed no remorse at the scene and instructed passengers not to tell officers that she had been drinking.

Munoz told the CHP to look for Lexy Garcia — who was flung away from the car after the impact — though he said Davis insisted that only four people were in the car that night.

Campbell and Lexy Garcia were honored with a roadside memorial that went up soon after the crash that took their lives. Two white crosses were placed in Campbell's memory, and a green mermaid tail that read "Lexy" was erected in honor of Lexy Garcia, who loved her long, mermaid-like locks.

Prosecutor Gaidos said in an email he hoped the memorial inspired residents to honor their lives "by remembering and reminding those around them that driving under the influence is a dangerous and serious crime."

The memorial was repeatedly vandalized and left in disarray. Lexy Garcia's family pleaded for help and offered a reward after the mermaid tail honoring their loved one was taken from the site.

The deadly crash came six months after Davis completed a 12-hour class of DUI education after pleading guilty to alcohol-related reckless driving in 2016, prosecutors said. Four years before the crash, Davis pleaded guilty to a reckless driving charge for driving under the influence of cannabis, prosecutors said.

Campbell 'Touched The Lives Of Many'

Campbell was an independent young woman who brought joy to others and was raised in Pleasanton with her grandparents, according to an obituary published in her memory via the Pleasanton Weekly.

She worked at Juice & Java in downtown Pleasanton and attended Foothill and Village high schools.

"Violet touched the lives of many of her fellow students and Village staff members," Pleasanton Unified School District officials said shortly after the crash.

Violet Campbell's mother, Michele Campbell, struggled to hold back tears while addressing the court Tuesday.

"When I received the horrible call that my daughter was killed ... I died too that day," she said.

She struggles on a daily basis with returning to "a normal life," knowing she will never see her daughter go to prom, get married, pick out a wedding dress or have her first baby.

On the night of the crash, Violet Campbell texted her grandfather Jim Painter to say that she was going to the mall to look at shoes and then go bowling, adding that she would be home on time. "But she never came home that night," he told the court.

"This was not an accident," Painter said. "Lauren decided to drive drunk and kill two young girls that would not have a future."

Violet Campbell's grandmother Janelle Painter told the court that her life "is measured by this tragic day."

"Our family will never have a normal Thanksgiving again," she said.

Janelle Painter said she struggled with the "what ifs." What if Violet Campbell didn't want to bother her grandmother to ask for a ride home that night?

Janelle Painter addressed Davis directly and said she drew on her faith as she sought to heal from her loss and prayed that "God is merciful" to her.

Lexy Garcia 'Never Took Simple Joys ... For Granted'

Lexy Garcia's family members recalled her as a free spirit with a kind and compassionate heart, a quirky sense of humor, a strong work ethic and a childlike heart who was wise beyond her years.

"She had a way of making a human connection and finding the good in everyone, no matter how different they were from her," Kinga Garcia told Patch.

Lexy Garcia was a popular pet sitter. Just weeks before the crash, she planned on bringing two new kittens home after visiting them regularly at her sister's house. They had been fostered there since the little balls of fluff were just two weeks old.

She was raised in St. Michael Catholic Church and played softball for 12 years. She graduated from Granada High School in 2010 before attaining her associate degree from Las Positas College and pursuing a degree in hospitality and tourism from California State University, East Bay.

She was just three blocks away from her downtown Livermore home when she decided to get into Davis' car, her father, Toff Garcia, told the court.

About 100 victim impact statements poured in on her behalf, said big sister Karyn McQueen, who was born nine years before Lexy Garcia.

McQueen said in her statement that she developed a crippling fear of driving and lost her jobs as she struggled to reckon with the loss and post-traumatic stress disorder. McQueen remained unable to return to work and is haunted by visions of her sister's injuries.

Lexy Garcia lost an eye, had her hair shaved off and was left with a shapeless face after her face plate broke off in the crash, McQueen said. Her face was covered in stitches and blood that couldn't be cleaned up because she was so unstable, McQueen said.

"I spent 7 long, agonizing days in that hospital praying for a miracle," Kinga Garcia said in her victim impact statement. "I knew only a miracle could save her, but I believed in miracles. I believed in prayer ... I was afraid to fall asleep, for fear Lexy might take her last breath as I selfishly got the sleep my body needed."

In the end, her family made the decision to say goodbye.

"You just really don't know the extent of human suffering until you hold your 25-year-old daughter's hand for the last time, literally waiting for the hospital monitors to tell you her heart is no longer beating," Kinga Garcia wrote.

Kinga Garcia told Patch that her family will never have closure, but the end of Davis' case means her loved ones can focus instead on honoring her memory, she said. Kinga Garcia has dedicated a feline habitat room at the East Bay SPCA in Dublin in her honor.

The community has been a great source of comfort for Lexy Garcia's family, her mother said.

"We can't thank them enough for their enduring love, and hope that they will continue to remember Lexy with us as the years pass," she said.

View the victim impact statements from Lexy Garcia's mother and sister, Karyn McQueen.

Kinga Garcia Victim Impact Statement by Courtney Teague on Scribd

Karyn McQueen Victim Impact Statement by Courtney Teague on Scribd

See also:

• Woman Convicted Of Double-Fatal Livermore DUI
• Funeral Services For Teen Killed In Livermore Crash
• Celebration Of Life For Woman Killed In Livermore Crash
• Memorial At Double Fatal Crash Site In Livermore Vandalized