Ronan woman gets deferred sentence for negligent homicide
A Ronan woman who was driving during a crash that left her friend dead received a three-year deferred sentence for negligent homicide March 10 in Lake County District Court.
Lindsay Elizabeth Castrillo, 36, originally faced a charge of vehicular homicide, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
She pleaded guilty to the lesser charge in January as part of a plea agreement.
Castrillo went rafting with two friends on North Crow Creek the afternoon of Sept. 1, 2019. She admitted to drinking one beer before the float and three more during the float, which lasted approximately 3 hours. She testified during sentencing that she also had been drinking water and eating food and didn’t feel impaired when she got behind the wheel to drive to a vehicle at the departure spot.
Court documents state Castrillo had a blood-alcohol level of 0.14.
Castrillo was driving a 2005 Subaru Forester Hatchback along Moise Valley Road and lost control on the gravel road after crossing a cattle guard. The vehicle rolled several times, during which time Harold Rodriguez was ejected.
After the crash Castrillo called 911 while a second passenger, an EMT, attended to Rodriguez, who died at the scene.
Rodriquez’s wife traveled to Polson from Miami for the sentencing and testified about her late husband’s lifelong dream to become a U.S. citizen. Harold Rodriguez was born in Venezuela and brought to the U.S. as a child. He earned bachelor’s degrees in physics and computer science at the University of Florida. He received protections under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and completed all citizenship requirements just one month before his death.
Rodriguez’s widow testified that she agreed to the plea agreement because her husband wouldn’t have wanted court proceedings to drag out.
“I feel like a trial would be harmful,” she said.
Crash reconstruction specialist Dave Rutherford testified that the stretch of road where the crash happened is particularly dangerous.
“Someone not impaired would also be at risk of crashing under the same conditions,” he said.
Defense attorney Britt Cotter also noted that Rodriguez was the only person in the vehicle who wasn’t wearing a seat belt during the crash. He then played a recording of part of Castrillo’s 911 call. He suggested that while she sounds emotionally shaken during the call, there is nothing in the recording to indicate obvious impairment due to alcohol.
Editor's note (June 1, 2021): A previous version of this article incorrectly reported that Harold Rodriguez was born in the United States. Mr. Rodriguez was born in Venezuela.