Driver in Oakland fatal hit and run to receive 12 years in prison through plea deal

Miguel Rodriguez fled the scene of the fatal wreck, but sustained a seatbelt-shaped bruise and cuts that helped police identify him.

OAKLAND — The man responsible for a 2020 drunk driving car wreck that left one dead and three hospitalized has accepted a plea deal that will send him to prison for a 12-year, eight-month term, records show.

Miguel Rodriguez, 34, pleaded no contest in June to vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident. He will be formally sentenced on Sept. 9, and has been in jail since the day of the March 29, 2020 crash, which will count towards his sentence, court records show.

Rodriguez remains in jail, and will be transferred to prison after the sentencing hearing.

The victim of the crash, 29-year-old Desmond King, was standing in a driveway with a group of people on the 5400 block of Bancroft Avenue in Oakland when he was killed. Police said at the time that Rodriguez crashed a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu while attempting to swerve past another car at high speeds, then careened into two cars, struck the victims, and crashed into a cement staircase.

Rodriguez exited the Chevrolet through a window and ran away, but police caught him that day. He had cuts and a seatbelt-shaped bruise that aided in identifying him, authorities said.

Three men who were standing with King — aged 39, 45, and 50 at the time — were hospitalized with injuries, authorities said.

Rodriguez initially faced 11 charges, ranging from vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving to drug possession.