PASADENA >> A 19-year-old Altadena man has begun serving a sentence of more than four years in prison after pleading “no contest” last week to charges stemming from a Pasadena car crash blamed on drunken driving that killed one of his passengers and injured three others, authorities said.
Gerardo Garcia was immediately sentenced to four years and four months in state prison after pleading “no contest” Friday in Pasadena Superior Court to charges of gross vehicular manslaughter, drunken driving and driving with a blood-alcohol level greater than .08 percent, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Greg Risling said.
The 12:15 a.m. crash at Washington Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue claimed the life of 17-year-old Gabriel Cabral of Riverside, and injured two teenage girls also riding as passengers, according to Pasadena police and district attorney’s officials.
In addition to being drunk, police received reports from witnesses that Garcia was involved in a street race when his 2004 Nissan sedan went out of control and struck a freeway overpass, officials said. But criminal charges related to street racing were not filed.

PHOTO of fatal crash victim Gabriel Cabral, 17, of Riverside. (Courtesy)