A Santa Maria man has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a fatal car crash. The Santa Barbara County D.A.’s Office says Javier Cortes pled guilty to the murder of two women while driving under the influence in 2019. The crash happened at the intersection of Donovan and Miller Streets in March of that year. Cortes ran a red light at more than 100 miles an hour and crashed into a Jeep Cherokee carrying four women. Two would die in the crash. Two others would be gravely injured. Cortes now faces 21 years to life in state prison when he’s sentenced next month.
