Murder charge for Woodland man in Yolo County crash that killed woman, 71
The Woodland driver facing a murder charge in a deadly Oct. 23 crash that killed a Knights Landing woman and left her husband critically injured has a history of drunken driving charges including prison time for a vehicular homicide three decades ago in Washington state, court records show.
Mario Navarro Dominguez, 53, was arraigned Wednesday in Yolo Superior Court in Woodland on suspicion of murder before Yolo Superior Court Judge Stephen Mock. Dominguez pleaded not guilty and was returned to Yolo County Jail where he is being held without bail awaiting a Nov. 12 court hearing.
Yolo County District Attorney’s officials said Dominguez had been “deported more than once” from the U.S. His immigration status was unclear Thursday.
District Attorney’s prosecutors also allege Dominguez was under the influence and driving with a suspended license at the time of the early morning crash that killed 71-year-old Estela Hernandez Vargas, and seriously injured her husband and son.
Attorneys filed charges of driving under the influence causing injury with enhancements for inflicting great bodily injury in the crash.
The Oct. 23 crash happened just before 6:30 a.m. on County Road 102 at County Road 17, east of Highway 113.
Prosecutors allege Dominguez ran the stop sign at the rural intersection at a high rate of speed before his pickup crashed into the sport utility vehicle with Vargas and family inside, pushing the SUV off the roadway. First responders found Vargas unresponsive and she was later pronounced dead.
Vargas’ son underwent surgery and is expected to survive, said Yolo County District Attorney’s Office. Vargas’ husband has undergone what prosecutors said were “multiple” surgeries since the crash. His condition was not known Thursday.
Dominguez was taken to Kaiser Permanente Vacaville Medical Center in Solano County to be treated for minor injuries. He was later taken into Yolo County custody.
The fatal October crash is the latest of several drunken driving charges for the 53-year-old Dominguez.
Dominguez was convicted in February 1992 of vehicular manslaughter in a deadly crash in Douglas County, Washington state, according to Yolo County District Attorney’s prosecutors in their Wednesday filing.
Court records show two previous misdemeanor convictions in May 2017 and again in September 2023 in Yolo County for driving under the influence. Dominguez was also charged with a hit-and-run involving property and driving with a blood alcohol level above .15 — nearly twice the legal limit of .08 — in the 2017 case.
After each of the convictions, judges also warned Dominguez that he could face murder charges if someone was killed in a crash while he was driving drunk.
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