Woman in Boyfriend's Car-Surfing Death Gets 1 Year in Jail

July 28, 2009

Sunnyvale – Athena Ford, 20, of Sunnyvale pleaded no contest to felony vehicular manslaughter after driving a car while her boyfriend was on the roof of the vehicle which caused his death.

On May 16, she and her deceased boyfriend, Paul Benabides were out driving with a friend when Benabides and the other passenger climbed onto the roof of the Toyota Camry Ford was driving to “car-surf”.

According to the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety, the car was traveling 30-40mph when Benabides fell off. He suffered major head injuries but died after he was taken to El Camino Hospital.

Captain Doug Moretto of the Sunnyvale Police attributed the combination of alcohol and "horseplay" led directly to the young man’s death.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office said that after reaching a plea deal with Ford, she managed to avoid a possible maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and will spend no more than one year in jail.

Benabides’ mother, Susanna Ramon however felt that there was no justice for her son’s death. The spokesman for the DA's office, Amy Cornell said that they took in all the mitigating factors involved in the accident and that they feel that the sentence imposed was appropriate for the case.