Teen driver accused of recording fatal DUI-crash expected in court Wednesday

An 18-year-old Stockton woman accused of driving drunk while recording the crash last week that killed her younger sister is expected to make her first appearance in court Wednesday.

Obdulia Sanchez was arrested Friday in connection with the death of her 14-year-old sister, Jacqueline Sanchez.

The younger sister was killed when Obdulia Sanchez apparently lost control of the white Buick Century she was driving and crashed Friday evening on Henry Miller Road, outside of Los Banos. Jacqueline, who authorities said wasn’t wearing a seat belt, was thrown through the back window of the car and died at the scene, Sheriff Vern Warnke reported.

Obdulia Sanchez, whose family calls her “Lulu,” remained in custody Tuesday in Merced County on suspicion of drunken driving and manslaughter, according to booking records.

The crash was reported by national media outlets after a live-stream video apparently recorded by Obdulia Sanchez before, during and after the crash went viral on social media. The video appears to show Sanchez rapping along with the radio while driving and became blurry and chaotic as the car overturned. When Sanchez appears back in the frame, her fatally wounded younger sister also is seen lying in a field.

Officials with the Merced County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday had not received reports from the California Highway Patrol. Rob Carroll, chief deputy district attorney, said his office expected to review the reports in the case on Wednesday and said Sanchez could be arraigned later that day.

On Tuesday, donations for Jacqueline’s funeral continued streaming in on a GoFundMe campaign set up by family, reaching the fundraiser’s $10,000 goal before 5 p.m.

Many people used the comment section of the donation page to debate the video and the tragedy. Some donors extended condolences to the Sanchez parents. Others expressed disgust related to the video and circumstances.

Meanwhile, a closed Facebook group called “Free Obdulia Sanchez!” popped up with more than 6,000 members. It had previously been a group to discuss LGBT issues, and the name changed after the crash and live video came to light.

Other similar pages were also created. A “Justice for Jacqueline Sanchez Estrada” page was even created to “counter” the Free Obdulia page.

Bob O’Donnell, a tech industry analyst, said it’s human nature to act differently in front of a camera.

“I do think people, in general, do use these platforms as their own personal TV,” he said. “I think that is obviously challenging in a lot of ways. As a result, you see a lot of people doing things that aren’t tragic –just people being people.”

But the live-stream video in this case is an example of the worst-case scenario for live streaming platforms, O’Donnell said.

“This is sort of that final culmination, unfortunately” he said. “Tech companies created these sorts of tools thinking about the positive, funny, silly things. Nobody thought about the negative things.”

That’s a challenge more social media companies are facing, he said. O’Donnell pointed to Facebook employing people solely to seek out inappropriate content and take it down.

O’Donnell also said social media provides a disconnect from reality, particularly for young people who have grown up using online platforms.

“I do think people tend to distance themselves from social media,” he said. “They see it as being different from real life. There’s a disconnect. It’s seen as a video or entertainment platform and therefore not really real.”

This story was originally published July 25, 2017 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Teen driver accused of recording fatal DUI-crash expected in court Wednesday."