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A Tracy woman is serving a prison sentence in Santa Rita Jail after accepting a plea deal for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in a 2018 crash that killed a motorcycle-loving couple out for an anniversary ride on Altamont Pass Road, Livermore Vine has learned.
Courtney Lynne Andrade, also known as Courtney Peterson, pleaded no contest on the precipice of trial in June to the two manslaughter counts and two DUI injury felonies in exchange for the remaining charges and special allegations to be dismissed.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jennifer Madden handed down the cumulative sentence of four years in county jail during a hearing on Sept. 5 during which the court heard emotional testimony from several friends in the motorcycle community of victims Mark Nida and Kathleen Seifert, according to court transcripts.
“So Mark and Kat went out that day celebrating their anniversary, and they also were celebrating that they were retiring. They were going to move to Arizona. They never got to do that. That’s a shame,” Roger Hicks told the court.
Rick Turnhole also testified, saying in part to Andrade, “So them two together, losing them in our family is devastating — and that’s more or less what I wanted you to understand is how much you hurt a group of people. Like we don’t even get together anymore like we used to because Mark would pull us in. He was a hell of a man, and it’s just a damn shame.”
Andrade, now 41, did not speak to the court during the sentencing hearing, according to the transcripts. Email inquiries to her defense attorney, James Bustamante, were unanswered as of Wednesday morning.
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office provided sentencing information but did not offer further comment when contacted by Livermore Vine.
The double-fatal collision unfolded at around 4:45 p.m. on Oct. 14, 2018 when the Ford F-250 that Andrade drove drifted into the opposite lane and struck a motorcycle on Altamont Pass Road east of Dyer Road, according to the California Highway Patrol.Â
Authorities reported that Andrade was drunk and had been driving 75 mph in the 45 mph zone that Sunday behind the wheel of the pickup truck, which was registered to Peterson Automotive in Livermore, according to court records. The business website describes a Courtney Peterson as a co-owner.
First responders arrived to find the truck down an embankment with a hurt male in the passenger seat and two critically injured motorcycle riders down on the road. Nida, 63, of Pleasanton died at the scene, according to court records.
Seifert, who lost her leg in the wreck, was flown to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where she was pronounced dead that evening — four days shy of her 65th birthday, according to court records.
Andrade, who smelled like alcohol and would later record a blood-alcohol content of 0.14%, attempted to leave the scene with a family member and initially refused a blood test, according to court records. She was placed under arrest that day but released pending further investigation, and later turned herself in and spent five days in jail after charges were filed in March 2019.
After more than five years of legal proceedings with Andrade pleading not guilty, the case was scheduled to start trial on June 3 but it was halted that day and she took a deal from prosecutors on June 4, according to court records.
In remarks before delivering the sentence, the judge noted that Andrade has shown remorse for what happened and is the mother of three young sons, including one born in the time after the crash.
Madden sentenced Andrade to the upper term of four years for the lead manslaughter count and terms of 16 months each for the remaining charges, with the time to be served concurrently and in the county jail rather than state prison.
“This particular case is very tragic because it was avoidable,” Madden said, according to court transcripts. “When you’re behind a motor vehicle, you essentially have a weapon that cannot only cause damage to yourself and any passenger in your vehicle, but anyone else on the road. In this situation, there were two individuals who were on a motorcycle. That makes them particularly vulnerable.”
“Tragically, there are a number of things that could have been done that were not done here, and as a result, there are two individuals who — as one person indicated, they were about to retire and relocate to another state — and as a result of what you did in your actions, they’re not here anymore,” the judge added.
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