A Silver Springs man was found guilty Tuesday of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in connection with a fatal crash in July 2008.
Following a trial in Fernley Justice Court, David Tonini, 54, was found guilty of causing the crash that killed Margarito Mendoza Leon, 39, of Silver Springs.
According to police reports, Tonini was southbound in the northbound lanes of Highway 95 Alternate in Silver Springs when he ran head on into a vehicle driven by Leon on July 25, 2008.
Leon was pronounced dead at the scene. Two boys, 10 and 9 years old, in Leon's vehicle were taken to the hospital by helicopter.
Tonini, a former volunteer EMT with the Silver Springs Volunteer Fire Department until about 2004, was also transported to the hospital after fire crews cut him from the mangled wreckage of his 1997 Ford F250 pickup.
The troopers on scene noted in their reports smelling alcohol on Tonini, but because of his injuries, a blood test was not performed until hours after the accident. The results indicated a blood-alcohol level of .066, court records indicate. The legal limit in Nevada is .08.
Fernley Deputy District Attorney Brandy Jensen said without a field sobriety test or other corroborating evidence to prove impairment, the state was not able to charge Tonini with anything more than a misdemeanor.
Tonini was immediately sentenced Tuesday to four months time served and two months suspended for the misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge and another charge of failure to maintain a lane, said Deputy District Attorney Jeremy Reichenberg, who handled the case.