# Woman who ran down Bennigan's waitress gets 30 years in prison **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 22, 2003, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164 "2003-07-22T15:55:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164/61 "2024-05-02T17:36:05Z")
Texas doesn’t livestream its parole hearings, but [Louisiana does.](https://m.youtube.com/@LAPardonParole/streams) (we like to have it on while doing house work, when there’s no major trial being livestreamed) ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164/62 "2024-05-02T17:37:09Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > But it is Texas, and parole can be a tough sell here even in the best of cases. Yeah, and maybe she’s not white. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164/63 "2024-05-02T17:52:55Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Yeah, and maybe she’s not white. She is white ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164/64 "2024-05-02T19:20:50Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > > [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > > > Sounds like prison may not have rehabilitated her, > > In an alternative universe situation in which she just missed the waitress and didn’t get caught, I wonder what sort of adult she would have become. It’s an interesting question. I think there’s a good chance that she might have become a better adult than one that received 21 years of training in a Texas prison on how to become an embittered hardened criminal. It’s not particularly useful to contemplate the situation where a drunk driver either kills someone or almost kills someone but doesn’t get caught, since that’s not an outcome that any decent society wants, but I have to wonder what kind of adult she would have become if the sentencing had been approached differently. It’s been shown that overly long sentences with a focus on retribution rather than rehabilitation leads, unsurprisingly, to greater recidivism. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164/65 "2024-05-02T19:49:24Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > . I think there’s a good chance that she might have become a better adult than one that received 21 years of training in a Texas prison on how to become an embittered hardened criminal. Agree > [@wolfpup](#): > > I have to wonder what kind of adult she would have become if the sentencing had been approached differently. and this. Though as a 19 yr old she obviously knew what she was doing, and it was a vile, awful act, with a different sentence, as a 30 yr old she might have become a good, responsible person… ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164/66 "2024-05-03T03:38:01Z")
> [@Palooka](#): > > I thought 30 years seemed harsh for an accidental death (no drunk driving death is really an accident, of course.) From the appeal: > Sanchez stood behind the Nova, apparently trying to write down the license plate number. Appellant backed the Nova quickly, squealing the tires. Sanchez jumped onto the back of the Nova to avoid being hit, and the Nova hit the car behind it. Appellant then drove the Nova through the parking lot, accelerating to thirty-five or forty-five miles per hour. Sanchez had climbed to the roof of the Nova and was trying to hang on. Appellant turned sharply to the left, and Sanchez was thrown to the pavement, hitting her head. Sanchez died from her injuries… > > For example, immediately after the incident, after appellant was stopped by a police officer, she told the police officer that Sanchez was hanging onto the car as she backed up; she told Sanchez to get off the car, but Sanchez would not; and she “punched” the car to get away. According to the officer, appellant called Sanchez a “bitch” and was “excited” and laughing. The officer also testified that one of the passengers in the vehicle told appellant to stop the car, but she refused, and that appellant swerved the car to knock Sanchez off the roof… > **[Foust v. State, No. 05-03-01261-CR | Casetext Search + Citator](https://casetext.com/case/foust-v-state)** > > Read Foust v. State, No. 05-03-01261-CR, see flags on bad law, and search Casetext’s comprehensive legal database This does not sound accidental. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164/67 "2024-05-03T12:38:49Z")
Yeah, that’s pretty bad. The sentence makes a lot more sense. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164/68 "2024-05-03T12:44:47Z")
> [@Slacker](#): > > So what do you think? Too much on the punishment? Not enough? Fifteen years in prison for murder?! No wonder we have so much crime. I’d have given her life in prison, but I’m not completely heartless. I’d let her come up for parole after 30 years. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164/69 "2024-05-03T12:47:00Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Fifteen years in prison for murder?! No wonder we have so much crime. I’d have given her life in prison, but I’m not completely heartless. I’d let her come up for parole after 30 years. if it had been a real accident and she just didn’t see Sanchez and backed over her, how much of a sentence would you have handed down? I’m genuinely curious. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164/70 "2024-05-03T13:51:25Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > if it had been a real accident and she just didn’t see Sanchez and backed over her, how much of a sentence would you have handed down? I’m genuinely curious. That depends on the circumstances surrounding the incident. If she had a clean record and the accident was not because of gross negligence, I might sentence her to a year and suspend the sentence. She still might very well face a civil suit, but that would be her problem, not mine. If, on the other, she was DUI and, on top of that, had priors related to unsafe driving, off to jail she would go. I’d allow parole after 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164/71 "2024-05-03T13:53:46Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > If, on the other, she was DUI Would the fact she were underage add to the sentence? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164/72 "2024-05-03T13:56:57Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Would the fact she were underage add to the sentence? As a judge, I wouldn’t consider that germane to the case at hand. I would think it appropriate to contact DCFS and have them take a close look at her family situation. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164/73 "2024-05-03T15:12:33Z")
So inmates should automatically be granted parole at the first opportunity if they’ve behaved in prison, regardless of the seriousness of their crime? If that was the rule, we’d be seeing even more prison conversions to devout Christianity. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164/74 "2024-05-03T15:17:34Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I have to wonder what kind of adult she would have become if the sentencing had been approached differently. And I have to wonder what kind of adult Jennifer Sanchez would have become if Sarah Foust hadn’t killed her. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164/75 "2024-05-03T15:31:20Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > So inmates should automatically be granted parole at the first opportunity if they’ve behaved in prison, regardless of the seriousness of their crime? > > If that was the rule, we’d be seeing even more prison conversions to devout Christianity. I’m fine with that if they’re genuine, depending on the crime and person. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164/76 "2024-05-03T15:36:10Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > > [@Jackmannii](#): > > > > If that was the rule, we’d be seeing even more prison conversions to devout Christianity. > > I’m fine with that if they’re genuine, depending on the crime and person. I don’t equate “behaving in prison” with conversion to Christianity. I’d prefer taking classes, avoiding discipline, getting counseling, things like that. For all we know, this young woman was a “devout Christian” to start with. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164/77 "2024-05-03T15:37:28Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I don’t equate “behaving in prison” with conversion to Christianity. I’d prefer taking classes, avoiding discipline, getting counseling, things like that. For all we know, this young woman was a “devout Christian” to start with. No, that makes more sense. As we well know, you can be a devout religious person and still be an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164/78 "2024-05-03T15:46:25Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Is it still policy to dock servers pay for dine and dash? I don’t think it is ever the “policy” of restaurants to “dock servers” if someone runs out on the bill (dine-and-dash). Although, it may happen. When I was a waiter in the late 80s - 90s we were our own bank during our shift. Which is to say, we’d put in orders and deliver the food and drinks during our shift. At the end of the night the computer said we owed the restaurant (say) $500. We would then turn in the credit card receipts and cash that totaled $500. Anything left over was our tips. But, if someone left without paying we would immediately inform the manager and almost always we were not responsible for the cost of that meal. Particularly since the restaurant had a policy that we were to never, ever, follow a customer out of the restaurant to collect a bill because things like the OP had happened before. That liability is waaaaay more than covering a meal. If they were still in the restaurant we could stop them (presumably because we had nearby backup from other staff and lots of witnesses). It only happened to me once. The manager cleared the charge from my daily tally. He was not happy but it was not my fault and he knew it. I got the feeling he’d be happier sticking me with the charge but knew that was a shortsighted policy that would backfire (and, presumably, company policy he had to follow). ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164/79 "2024-05-03T15:51:34Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I don’t think it is ever the “policy” of restaurants to “dock servers” if someone runs out on the bill (dine-and-dash). Although, it may happen. It was apparently the policy at Bennigan’s at the time which is why this was more newsworthy back then. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164/80 "2024-05-03T16:18:18Z")
Was it? That surprises me. You may be correct, I certainly do not know. I’ll ask my brother who worked as a waiter for them in the early 80s. He may remember. I get that is not a great source (he would answer honestly but he was only a waiter and it was a very long time ago now) but I am interested in his answer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-who-ran-down-bennigans-waitress-gets-30-years-in-prison/190164.md?page=5)