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Prosecutors drop criminal charges involving death of 2-year-old girl hit by truck in Woodland

“I just want to let him know that he destroyed our family,” the aunt of Ailahni Sanchez Martinez said.

Prosecutors drop criminal charges involving death of 2-year-old girl hit by truck in Woodland

“I just want to let him know that he destroyed our family,” the aunt of Ailahni Sanchez Martinez said.

JUSTICE WAS NOT SERVED. I THINK THEY JUST WANT TO DROP THE CASE OFF. THAT’S WHAT THEY SAID. THE FAMILY OF TWO YEAR OLD ALANI SANCHEZ MARTINEZ IS DEVASTATED. IT’S NOW CASE DISMISSED AFTER THE YOLO COUNTY COURT TURNED HER DEATH INVESTIGATION OVER TO A CRIMINAL GRAND JURY. AFTER HEARING FROM BOTH SIDES AND BEING PRESENTED EVIDENCE YESTERDAY, A TEAM MADE UP OF 19 COMMUNITY MEMBERS RULED THERE WOULD BE NO INDICTMENT FOR 34 YEAR OLD JULIO NAVARRO VIDRIO GRAND JURY ACTS ON A PROBABLE CAUSE STANDARD. SO IT’S LESS THAN WHAT HAS TO BE PROVEN IN A TRIAL. AND THEY FOUND THAT THERE WASN’T PROBABLE CAUSE FOR CRIMINAL CHARGES IN THE CASE. ALANI ZANDT HAS A MESSAGE FOR NAVARRO VIDRIO. I JUST WANT TO, YOU KNOW, LET HIM KNOW THAT HE DESTROYED OUR FAMILY. MY BROTHER IS DEVASTATED. I’M. HOLIDAYS ARE COMING UP. AND IT’S NOT FAIR FOR THEM TO JUST THROW THE CASE OFF LIKE NOTHING HAD HAPPENED. THEY TOOK A LIFE AND IT WAS MY NIECE’S LIFE. THE FATHER, WHO HAD FACED FELONY CHARGES FOR LEAVING HIS TRUCK RUNNING WHILE HE RAN INTO THE GAS STATION STORE IN WOODLAND, APPEARED ON ZOOM, BUT DID NOT MAKE ANY COMMENTS AT TODAY’S HEARING, WHICH DID NOT ALLOW TV CAMERAS IN THE COURTROOM. HE JUST CREATED RISK AND DANGER TO OUR COMMUNITY. INVESTIGATORS SAY BACK IN MARCH, NAVARRO VIDRIOS TWO YEAR OLD DAUGHTER GOT OUT OF HER CAR SEAT AND GOT BEHIND THE WHEEL OF HIS TRUCK. THE TRUCK MOVED, HITTING AND KILLING ALANI, WHO WAS NEAR HER PARENTS TACO STAND. THE DA SAYS IT’S A HEARTBREAKING CASE, BUT THE GRAND JURY’S DECISION IS FINAL. IT’S REALLY HEARTBREAKING. THE ENTIRE SITUATION IS DEVASTATING. THE CASE IS OVER. WE’RE RESPECTING THE DECISION OF THE GRAND JURY IN THE CASE, AND THERE WILL NOT BE ANY ADDITIONAL CRIMINAL CHARGES. AND THIS IS THE END OF THE CASE. ALANI ZANDT SAYS SHE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE SEEN NAVARRO VIDRIO FACE JAIL TIME, SO NO ONE ELSE LOSES A FAMILY MEMBER LIKE THEY DID. I KNOW IT WON’T TAKE HER PAIN AWAY, BUT IT WILL REFLECT ON OTHER PEOPLE THAT IT’S NOT AN OKAY TO. LEAVE A CHILD UNATTENDED. SO I WANT TO TELL THE COMMUNITY, BE SAFE OUT THERE. DON’T LEAVE YOUR CHILD UNATTENDED WITH THE VEHICLE ON. YOU KNOW IT’S NOT A MISTAKE. IN WOODLAN. LETICIA ORDAZ KCRA THREE NEWS. AND THE DA SAYS WHILE THIS IS THE END OF THE CRIMINAL CASE, THE FAMILY IS STILL ALLOWED TO PURSUE CIVIL CHARGES IF THEY CHOOSE. LEILANI’S AUNT SAYS THEY PLAN TO ORGANI
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Prosecutors drop criminal charges involving death of 2-year-old girl hit by truck in Woodland

“I just want to let him know that he destroyed our family,” the aunt of Ailahni Sanchez Martinez said.

Prosecutors dismissed a criminal case regarding the death of a 2-year-old girl after a grand jury deemed the crash that left her dead had no criminal cause, officials said Wednesday. A toddler was behind the wheel of a truck that hit and killed the girl, identified as Ailahni Sanchez Martinez, on March 16, the Woodland Police Department said. The truck's owner had gone to a 76 gas station along West Street off of West Main Street and left his 3-year-old child in the vehicle to go inside the store.The truck was still running when the child managed to get out of their car seat and into the front of the vehicle, police said. That was when the truck began moving until it hit Ailahni, who was near her parent's taco stand on the edge of the lot.Ailahni's third birthday was just a month away at the time, her family said. In a Wednesday release, Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig said the child was able to put the truck into drive without pressing the brake pedal "due to a defect in the vehicle."The district attorney's office in May filed involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment charges against the 3-year-old's father, Julio Navarro Vidrio. Due to the sensitive nature of the case, the case went to a criminal grand jury last week. When it was presented to the jury, Reisig said it returned a "no bill," meaning that the jurors did not find any probable cause that the crash was a criminal act.Navarro Vidrio appeared via Zoom during a hearing at the Yolo County Courthouse on Wednesday but did not make any comments. Ailahni's aunt, Diana Sanchez, had a message outside court for Navarro Vidrio.“I just want to let him know that he destroyed our family,” she said. “Holidays are coming up and it’s not fair for them to just throw the case off like nothing had happened. They took a life and it was my niece’s life.” Prosecutors told KCRA 3 that Navarro Vidrio has no criminal history and expressed remorse after the deadly crash."It's really heartbreaking, the entire situation is devastating," Deputy District Attorney Frits Van der Hoek said. "The case is over. We are respecting the decision of the grand jury in the case there will not be any additional charges. This is the end of the case."Sanchez said she would have liked to have seen Navarro see jail time. “I know it won’t take our pain away but it will reflect on other people that it’s not OK to leave a child unattended. I want to tell the community, be safe out there. Do not leave your child unattended with the vehicle on. It’s not a mistake.” The family of the 2-year-old can still pursue a civil case over Ailahni's death. They plan to organize a protest at the Yolo County courthouse later this month.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter

Prosecutors dismissed a criminal case regarding the death of a 2-year-old girl after a grand jury deemed the crash that left her dead had no criminal cause, officials said Wednesday.

A toddler was behind the wheel of a truck that hit and killed the girl, identified as Ailahni Sanchez Martinez, on March 16, the Woodland Police Department said. The truck's owner had gone to a 76 gas station along West Street off of West Main Street and left his 3-year-old child in the vehicle to go inside the store.

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The truck was still running when the child managed to get out of their car seat and into the front of the vehicle, police said. That was when the truck began moving until it hit Ailahni, who was near her parent's taco stand on the edge of the lot.

Ailahni's third birthday was just a month away at the time, her family said.

In a Wednesday release, Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig said the child was able to put the truck into drive without pressing the brake pedal "due to a defect in the vehicle."

The district attorney's office in May filed involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment charges against the 3-year-old's father, Julio Navarro Vidrio. Due to the sensitive nature of the case, the case went to a criminal grand jury last week.

When it was presented to the jury, Reisig said it returned a "no bill," meaning that the jurors did not find any probable cause that the crash was a criminal act.

Navarro Vidrio appeared via Zoom during a hearing at the Yolo County Courthouse on Wednesday but did not make any comments.

Ailahni's aunt, Diana Sanchez, had a message outside court for Navarro Vidrio.

“I just want to let him know that he destroyed our family,” she said. “Holidays are coming up and it’s not fair for them to just throw the case off like nothing had happened. They took a life and it was my niece’s life.”

Prosecutors told KCRA 3 that Navarro Vidrio has no criminal history and expressed remorse after the deadly crash.

"It's really heartbreaking, the entire situation is devastating," Deputy District Attorney Frits Van der Hoek said. "The case is over. We are respecting the decision of the grand jury in the case there will not be any additional charges. This is the end of the case."

Sanchez said she would have liked to have seen Navarro see jail time.

“I know it won’t take our pain away but it will reflect on other people that it’s not OK to leave a child unattended. I want to tell the community, be safe out there. Do not leave your child unattended with the vehicle on. It’s not a mistake.”

The family of the 2-year-old can still pursue a civil case over Ailahni's death.

They plan to organize a protest at the Yolo County courthouse later this month.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter