Drunken Driver Sentenced to 10 Years in Death of Connor Penhall

A drunken driver was sentenced today to 10 years in prison in the death of the son of motorcycle racing champion-turned-actor Bruce Penhall.

Connor Penhall, 21, was cutting concrete along the westbound San Bernardino (10) Freeway when he was fatally struck April 4 by a Toyota RAV4 driven by Tatsuhiko Sakamoto.

Sakamoto, 39, was convicted Nov. 1 of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving with a .08 percent blood-alcohol level, causing injury. The jury could not agree on a count of murder, and prosecutors decided against refiling that charge, according to the District Attorney's Office.

Penhall was working for a Caltrans subcontractor when he was fatally struck. His family filed a civil suit against Sakamoto, as well as Caltrans and the subcontractor, Flatiron Construction Corp., alleging safety violations contributed to the crash.

According to the family, Caltrans and the contractor failed to property place cones, barricades or signs warning motorists of a detour. California Highway Patrol officers were not properly positioned in the construction zone, the lawsuit states.

Sakamoto drove over a single safety cone at the start of the closed area and then continued roughly 3,500 feet in the left lane because barricades "required by the 'standard plan' to be placed every 2,000 feet across all lanes and shoulders were not in place to obstruct Sakamoto's path," according to the suit.

As a matter of policy, Caltrans does not comment on pending litigation, a spokesman said.

The victim's father played Officer Bruce Nelson in the final season of the "CHiPs" television series. His son also competed in motorcycle races.

—City News Service