Sharbel Touma / Ventura County District Attorney's Office
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. - An Oxnard man has been sentenced to more than three years in state prison for causing a high-speed crash that claimed the lives of two people in 2023.
What we know:
Sharbel Touma, 33, was sentenced to three years and four months in state prison, the Ventura County District Attorney's Office announced on Monday.
Touma had previously pleaded guilty on March 16, 2026, to two felony counts of vehicular manslaughter for the crash that killed Samuel Castro and Annette Gomez.
The collision happened on February 12, 2023, just after midnight.
According to authorities, Castro was driving westbound on West Fifth Street in Oxnard with Gomez as his passenger. When Castro attempted a U-turn from the second lane, his vehicle was struck broadside in the first lane by Touma's vehicle.
Surveillance video captured the crash, and an Event Data Recorder (EDR) recovered from Touma's vehicle proved he was traveling 108.73 miles per hour one second before the impact.
Following the sentencing hearing, Touma was immediately remanded into custody.
What we don't know:
The public statement did not disclose the specific legal reasoning behind the judge's decision to offer a lighter sentence than what the prosecution requested.
What they're saying:
Prosecutors made it clear they felt the punishment did not fit the severity of the crime.
"Based on the defendant's extreme speed, the preventable nature of this tragedy, and the fact that two lives were lost, we respectfully asked the court to impose five years, four months in state prison," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Paul Nuñez.
What you can do:
The court has ordered that Touma be entirely prohibited from driving for the duration of his parole once his prison term is completed.
Residents can report active reckless driving or dangerous street racing to local law enforcement immediately by calling 911.
The Source: This report is based on information provided by the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.