A man who drove drunk and caused a high-speed crash that killed another driver on Interstate 8 in La Mesa was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in state prison.
Iqbal Noory Ibrahim, 32, pleaded guilty to charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and assault with a deadly weapon for causing the Oct. 27, 2022, crash that killed 53-year-old El Cajon resident Jeffrey Garde.
Garde was driving a pickup truck that was rear-ended at around 2:30 a.m. that day on eastbound Interstate 8, near Grossmont Boulevard. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Ibrahim had a blood-alcohol level of .204% about an hour after the crash, according to Deputy District Attorney Hailey Williams, who said Ibrahim was driving over 100 mph when the impact occurred.
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He was initially charged with murder due to a prior 2018 DUI conviction and originally faced up to 35 years to life in state prison. His other convictions include a hit-and-run in 2015 and multiple convictions for driving with a suspended license. In pleading guilty, Ibrahim agreed to the 25-year prison term.
Garde was driving home at the time of the fateful crash, according to his family members who attended Ibrahim's sentencing hearing. They described him as a loving father to his only daughter, Justine, and said he had been looking forward to an upcoming trip to the Philippines to visit his father and other family members. They said his hobbies included restoring old vehicles, including the truck he was driving on the day he died.
Justine Garde said her father was a "very carefree and a go-with-the-flow type of person," adding, "He would remind me every so often something could happen to him any given day because nothing is ever guaranteed tomorrow. But nothing could ever prepare someone to lose their loved one in the manner I did."
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Garde's daughter said the family lost him "so abruptly and unjustifiably," and said, "To have to go through the rest of my life knowing that the way he died was preventable is something I am still processing and having a hard time accepting."
Ibrahim, who wept throughout the victim impact statements delivered by Garde's family members, apologized to them in court.
"My choices that night were of an irresponsible person with no regard for anyone," he said. "I just want, hope, and pray that you will all someday find it acceptable in your life to forgive me, but I won't blame you if you don't, because I can't even forgive myself."
Ibrahim also said he would "never pick up a drink ever again in my life, because I don't ever want to cause someone this pain again. l am so sorry I learned this too late for Mr. Garde."
Ibrahim's attorney, Stefano Molea, said in a statement released after the hearing, "Mr. Ibrahim is genuinely remorseful for the choices he made that led to this tragic event. He has accepted responsibility and hopes that today's sentencing will be a step forward for the family."
