Son Crashed The Car And Fled; Parents Sentenced For Insurance Fraud

Oct. 29--A couple were sentenced to jail time Tuesday after they pleaded no contest to insurance fraud for filing a false stolen vehicle report and then lying to their insurance company when their son caused a head-on collision, the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office said.

Jose Leyva was sentenced to 90 days in jail, and his wife, Leticia, was sentenced to 60 days for being an accessory after the fact, the District Attorney's Office said in a news release. The couple were also ordered to pay $9,277 in restitution.

The sentence stems from an earlier incident in which their adult son was driving their car in the middle of the night, the District Attorney's Office said. The son crossed the median and hit a car head-on.

"The collision caused serious bodily injury to the son's passenger and the other driver as well as damage to both vehicles," according to the news release.

The son fled the scene after the crash and called his father twice, the DA's Office said.

When contacted by dispatch about their vehicle, "they claimed the car had been stolen," the DA's Office said. "They also insisted their son was home asleep."

Law enforcement tracked the son's cellphone, which showed him to be in the area of the collision in Woodland. The couple then tried to file a stolen vehicle report with police and told their insurance company the car had been stolen, according to the release.

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