PANAMA CITY — A Panama City Beach man accused of running over two foreign exchange students while he was driving drunk has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison and about $55,000 in restitution, according to court records.
Rodolfo Santiago Espanola, 47, was arrested in June of last year on charges of DUI with serious injury, failure to immediately report a crash and leaving the scene of a crash with injuries after officers discovered two bicyclists had been hit at about 11:15 p.m. while riding along Front Beach Road, according to Florida Highway Patrol reports.
Officials said Espanola’s blood alcohol content was 0.221 at the time, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08.
Last week, Espanola pleaded no contest to the charges and was sentenced to 55 months in prison. He also was ordered to repay about $55,000 in restitution for medical treatment, court records indicated.
The bicyclists were Chinese foreign exchange students visiting Panama City Beach. One of the girls suffered critical head injuries and was treated at a local hospital. The other was hospitalized in stable condition, troopers reported. During Espanola’s sentence hearing, prosecutors said both of the girls were treated and returned home.
The crash happened June 15 on Front Beach Road near Moylan Road. Espanola, driving a 2001 Chrysler Sebring, struck the two bicyclists, sending them both to the hospital, FHP reported. Officers arrested him at about 2 a.m.