DUI driver sentenced in fatal hit-and-run
Camarillo man given 18 years
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

A Ventura County judge sentenced a Camarillo man to 18 years in prison last week for a hitand-run car accident that took the life of a toddler.

"We are very pleased with that sentence," Deputy District Attorney Gary Evans said in an interview. "The conduct Mr. (David) Mark engaged in was extremely dangerous."

David Mark pleaded no contest in March to gross negligence, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and fleeing the scene of the June 3, 2006, accident that claimed the life of 19-month-old Alex Hurd of Camarillo.

The toddler was strapped into a safety seat behind his father, who was driving the family's minivan when it was struck by Mark's pickup truck. Alex suffered severe head injuries and died later that night at the hospital.

Defense attorney Ben Maserang failed to convince Superior Court Judge Kevin McGee that Mark, a 43yearold mechanic, was not a career criminal and therefore didn't merit additional prison time under the state's three-strikes law.

Maserang said that Mark had been steadily employed until the accident and was trying to improve his job skills by working toward a master mechanic's certificate.

"That is not something we see with a career criminal," Maserang said. "He does recognize that his influence was a major part of the accident."

He also said that Mark had successfully completed a controlled substance program following a 2003 misdemeanor drug conviction.

But Evans questioned the program's success because Mark had a blood alcohol level of 0.21 percent- nearly three times the legal limit- when he turned in front of oncoming traffic, hit the Hurds' vehicle and tried to leave the scene.

This speaks volumes on his character, Evans told the judge.

He also pointed out that Mark had a prior conviction for driving under the influence and for felony burglary, his first strike.

"I don't think that this is what the three-strikes law was intended to do," Maserang said after the sentencing.

Mark could be eligible for parole after serving 14 1/2 years.