Man Sentenced in Hit and Run Crash that Killed Pasadena Man Last Spring

A man was sentenced, to six years in state prison for killing a Pasadena driver in a hit-and-run crash in May.

Robert Michael Ybarra, 35, pleaded no contest on Tuesday to one felony count of vehicular manslaughter and was then sentenced for a violent crash that killed Abeme Minuta, of Pasadena, according to Richard Santiago, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.

As part of the negotiated plea agreement, charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, hit-and-run driving causing injury or death to another person and misdemeanor driving with a suspended or revoked license were dismissed, Santiago said.

Ybarra, who police say has lived in Los Angeles and Alhambra, could have faced 11 years in prison if he had been convicted of all the charges, Santiago said.

Santiago said restitution to the victim’s family has been ordered but the final amount is pending.

Ybarra was driving a Chevrolet Blazer southbound on Sierra Madre Boulevard when he ran a red light and broad-sided a Honda Accord heading east on Colorado Boulevard shortly after 2 a.m. on Saturday, May 27, police said. Ybarra was drunk, according to police reports.

The impact of the crash was so forceful that it sent the black Honda over a median and several hundred feet away, according to police reports.

Minuta, 24, of Pasadena, died at the scene. Ybarra then fled the area, police said.

Police searched extensively but were unable to locate the suspect at the time. He was eventually detained by police at 2 p.m the next day.

Ybarra suffered internal injuries from the car collision. He was taken into custody and taken to a local hospital, where he underwent surgery for internal injuries before being transported to jail on June 1st, police said.