Family members vow they'll figure out a way to ensure the 19-year-old still enrolls in a prestigious university with programs for the deaf in the fall.

But in the meantime, they have to muster funds for her father's funeral, her mother's house payments and all of life's other expenses.

Stanley Franklin Spaeth Jr. of south Sacramento was killed Saturday night after a suspected drunken driver struck his motorcycle as he rode home from work – his second job, one that family members said he took to pay for his oldest daughter's upcoming tuition – and sent his body hurtling through the air.

Officers arrested Rebecca Vela, a 33-year-old Sacramento woman, and booked her into the Sacramento County Main Jail on charges of murder, driving under the influence, and hit and run, according to Elk Grove police.

If convicted, it will be Vela's fourth drunken driving offense since 1994, court records show.

News of Spaeth's death, and Vela's history, has family members shocked, outraged and sounding the age-old alarm of the dangers of drunken driving.

"I just feel people need to know it's a very, very serious thing. It's a murder," said Spaeth's aunt Margot Schulzke. "(The driver) took someone's life in her hands when she left with too much alcohol in her bloodstream. It's just as much killing someone as taking a gun" and shooting that person, she said.

From the jail, where she remains ineligible for bail, Vela declined an interview with The Bee. She was arraigned Tuesday and is expected to appear in court again May 5.

The accident occurred about 10:30 p.m. Saturday, as Spaeth was northbound on East Stockton Boulevard, said Elk Grove Police Officer Chris Trim. Vela, driving alone in her 1997 Acura TL, was northbound on the same street at a "high rate of speed" and rear-ended Spaeth's motorcycle, Trim said.

Spaeth was thrown from his motorcycle and suffered fatal injuries. He was 54.

"He was killed instantly," Schulzke said. "He had no opportunity to react defensively."

Trim said officers initially booked Vela on suspicion of murder and drunken driving, but the District Attorney's Office added the hit-and-run charge because she was "actively trying to leave" when officers arrived at the scene.

Spaeth leaves behind his wife, Denise, and two daughters, ages 19 and 14. He worked days for a security company and nights as a security guard.

Family members described him as a "true blue, everyman American," a man with limited formal education but unlimited love and work ethic.

"He put himself out for a lot of people and thought nothing of it," Schulzke said. "Always even-tempered and pleasant – just a very kind and responsible person."

Her sister, Joan Hamblin, said Spaeth had a "delightful sense of humor" and worked hard to protect and provide for his family.

She said her niece, Denise Spaeth, met Stanley when she was in her late 20s. Denise was struck by how great Stanley was with his nieces and nephews, Hamblin said. "She thought, 'Now this is the kind of man I want to marry.' "

Hamblin said she hopes that her family's suffering will make other potential drunken drivers think again about "the tragedy they wreak on families and those who are left behind."

"That would be one of my hopes," Hamblin said.

Vela was first convicted of drunken driving in 1994, according to Sacramento Superior Court records.

Her subsequent convictions came in 1996 and 2000, according to court records and the current criminal complaint filed by the District Attorney's Office.

In an unrelated case, Vela pleaded guilty in 1995 to a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon. Details of that case were not available Wednesday.

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, drunken driving is an offense that tends to be repeated. About one-third of DUI arrests nationwide involve repeat offenders, said Silas Miers, program coordinator for MADD's California division.

He said there are no data available for how many repeat offenders are responsible for fatalities. But recidivism is so common, he said, that MADD is backing an Assembly bill that would initiate an "ignition interlock" program in California.

The devices prevent drivers from starting their cars if an installed analyzer device detects alcohol on the driver's breath. Assembly Bill 91, sponsored by Los Angeles Democrat Mike Feuer, would bring a pilot program requiring the devices for all first-time drunken drivers to five counties, including Sacramento.

"It's almost a no-brainer to us that this bill is going to save lives," Miers said.

Penalties for drunken drivers vary by county, Miers said, but usually involve one night in jail and two days of a work-project program – a sentence typically reduced to one day, as long as participants behave well.

The financial cost is perhaps more startling: About $1,400 in fines, $1,200 in fees, a car impound fee and then the risk of boosted insurance rates. First-timers also have to complete and pay for a three-month alcohol awareness class and forfeit their driver's license.

"It's a significant portion of money that the offender has to pay for DUI, vs. calling a cab, which might cost them $20 to $30," Miers said.

Penalties increase with each subsequent offense.

In California, all drunken driving offenses that do not involve injuries are misdemeanors, until the offender hits his or her fourth in 10 years, Miers said. Offenses that involve injuries automatically are charged as felonies.

Miers said ignition interlock devices are just one example of how authorities can help prevent repeat offenses. But it's up to the public, too, to realize the danger of impaired driving.

"There's always a personal choice there," he said.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.