Driver sentenced after alcohol-related accident in Oceanside with three deaths

A man who drove his pickup truck into a family’s car at an Oceanside intersection while under the influence of alcohol, killing three of the six family members in the car, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday.

Mason Robert Fish, 25, pleaded guilty to intoxicated manslaughter in connection with the Feb. 5, 2019, car crash that killed 74-year-old Rufina Arango Rodriguez and her daughters, 40-year-old Petra Arango and 56-year-old Eloina Arango.

Petra Arango’s then 13-year-old daughter was among the three other family members injured in the accident.

Fish, who was 19 at the time, pleaded guilty to all counts and charges against him in Vista Superior Court just as his trial was set to begin earlier this year.

According to Assistant District Attorney David Uyar, substances found in Fish’s system after the accident included cocaine, Xanax and Delta-9-THC.

According to police, Fish was driving on South Coast Highway shortly before 1 p.m. when he ran a red light at Oceanside Boulevard and crashed into the driver’s side of the victims’ 2003 Mazda sedan.

The side impact ejected Petra Arango and her daughter, two of the four passengers in the back seat of the Mazda. Petra Arango died in hospital, while Rufina Arango Rodriguez and Eloina Arango died at the scene of the accident.

Kelly Velasco Arango, the then 13-year-old who survived the crash, was one of several members of the Arango family who spoke in court at Fish’s sentencing. Her mother, grandmother and aunt were killed in the crash.

“Not a day goes by that I am not afraid to get into a car because I might be the victim of another careless mistake,” she said. “Every single person in my family is devastated by this car accident.”

Fish’s attorney, Alvaro Gonzalez, said his client “made a terrible mistake” that was partly triggered by the death of his grandmother. Gonzalez said Fish learned of her death that day and went for a ride “to clear his head.”

Gonzalez asked for a maximum prison sentence of 12 years, while Uyar asked for the maximum possible prison sentence of over 22 years.

During the hearing, which was attended by more than a dozen members of both families, Fish apologized to the Arango family and his own family.

“I have no words to express the depth of my sadness and regret for the unimaginable pain and loss I have caused your family,” Fish told the Arango family.

He said that when he learned of his grandmother’s death he was “filled with despair and confusion” and subsequently made “a series of decisions that I deeply regret.”

Fish said he was “tormented day and night by the knowledge that I will never be able to undo the damage I have done.”

Speaking to his own family, Fish said his “heart is heavy with regret and sadness for the pain I have caused you.” He thanked his family members for their support throughout the legal process.

“Their love and support meant the world to me, even when I thought I didn’t deserve it,” he said.