Savannah Domann’s family and friends wore pink and held pink and white flowers in memory of her and her unborn daughter’s lives at Steven Ayala’s sentencing hearing on Monday.
Steven A. Ayala was sentenced to 15 years in jail after pleading guilty to driving while intoxicated in an incident the resulted in the death of a woman and her unborn child.
Savannah Domann’s family and friends wore pink and held pink and white flowers in memory of her and her unborn daughter’s lives at Steven Ayala’s sentencing hearing on Monday.
Savannah Domann’s family and friends wore pink and held pink and white flowers in memory of her and her unborn daughter’s lives at Steven Ayala’s sentencing hearing on Monday.
Steven A. Ayala was sentenced to 15 years in jail after pleading guilty to driving while intoxicated in an incident the resulted in the death of a woman and her unborn child.
Savannah Domann’s family and friends wore pink and held pink and white flowers in memory of her and her unborn daughter’s lives at Steven Ayala’s sentencing hearing on Monday.
A judge sentenced a man, who pleaded guilty in the 2022 death of a pregnant St. Joseph woman, to 15 years in prison on Monday. It is the maximum sentence for the charge.
Steven Ayala pleaded guilty in Dec. 2022 to driving while intoxicated and causing an accident that killed Savannah Domann, 26, and her unborn daughter, Raydyn Kay Erickson.
“We got the max, so we’ll take it. But 15’s still, for two lives, still is not enough for us,” said Morgan Domann, Savannah Domann’s sister, after the hearing. “I don’t know from here how things will go. We still — ultimately, neither one of them are here still, so.”
A probable cause statement said Ayala drove a pickup into oncoming traffic on Jan. 14, 2022, at South Belt Highway near Sacramento Street and crashed head-on into the vehicle driven by Domann.
Ayala had a breath-alcohol content level of 0.015% at the time of the accident and admitted to using narcotics and sedatives, according to court documents.
During the more than two-hour sentencing hearing, Savannah Domann’s family members testified on how their lives have forever been altered by the crash.
“I laugh less. I’m angry more; I isolate myself more,” Morgan Domann said.
Savannah Domann’s mother, Stacey Armfield, said she lived 374 miserable days without her daughter. Armfield shared that Savannah Domann’s due date was on Armfield’s 50th birthday, but instead of celebrating the birth of her first granddaughter, she spent it at the cemetery.
“I need and my family needs justice for my girls,” Armfield told Judge Patrick Robb. “Savannah and Raydyn deserve to be here, but they’re not. Please get my family some justice.”
Chris Erickson, Raydyn’s father and Savannah Domann’s partner, also testified. He said all Savannah Domann wanted was to be a mom, and they were so excited to start a family together.
“I didn’t know this much hurt and pain was possible,” Erickson said. “I try to be okay, but I’m not.”
At the end of the hearing, Ayala had the opportunity to address the judge and Savannah Domann’s friends and family.
“I would like to start off by apologizing to the court and the family,” Ayala said.
He said he wanted to extend his “deepest sincerity,” saying the impact of his choice “weighs heavy in my heart every day.”
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A previous version of this story was corrected to show that court documents listed Ayala's BrAC was 0.015% not 0.15%.
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