San Diego, CA
Woman Sentenced For Mission Bay DUI Crash That Killed Friend
SAN DIEGO, CA — A woman who drove under the influence, then left the scene of a crash that trapped her friend in an overturned car submerged in Tecolote Creek was sentenced Friday to 19 years to life in state prison.
Jennifer Rae Xavier, 24, was convicted by a San Diego jury last year of murder, hit-and-run, and other charges for causing the March 4, 2021, crash that killed 21-year-old Sidnie Waller.
Prosecutors alleged that after the women went out to bars in Pacific Beach that night, Xavier got behind the wheel while drunk and under the influence of Xanax.
Waller sent her brother and a friend several text messages prior to the crash which stated that Xavier was drunk and had taken “a bar,” meaning Xanax. The texts stated that Waller was “terrified” because Xavier was swerving, nearly struck other cars and was driving at over 100 miles per hour.
The car veered off southbound Interstate 5 and overturned in the creek below.
Deputy District Attorney Philippa Cunningham said Xavier then walked from the scene of the wreck and onto the freeway while drenched in water and was picked up by a passing motorist who was unaware of the crash.
Responding firefighters pulled Waller from the wreckage. She was taken to a hospital, where she died days later. Xavier was arrested about five months later in connection with the crash.
Xavier’s defense attorney, G. Cole Casey, asked Friday for his client to be sentenced on a gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated count rather than murder, in order to avoid sentencing her to a life term.
Unlike the majority of DUI offenders charged with murder, Xavier did not have a prior DUI conviction, Casey said.
Those convictions typically lead to a “Watson advisement,” in which defendants are informed by the court that they can be charged with murder if they commit another DUI offense and someone dies. Since Xavier did not receive that advisement, Casey argued she should not be sentenced in the same manner as someone with a prior DUI.
Cunningham argued that while Xavier lacked a prior DUI conviction, evidence showed she drove under the influence in 2019 and crashed into another car. The prosecutor said the fatal crash was “not the first time that Jenny Xavier decided to disregard the safety of everyone else for her own benefit.”
In denying the defense’s request, San Diego Superior Court Judge Peter Deddeh noted that Xavier texted a friend after the 2019 crash, in which she described the incident as a “wake up call” and said “I could have killed someone or myself.”
Waller and Xavier were childhood friends from the San Jose area, but both were living in San Diego at the time.
At Xavier’s sentencing hearing, Waller’s mother, Danijela Mosunic, said that as a longtime friend of her daughter, Xavier had even been included in some of their family vacations.
Mosunic said one night, Xavier admitted to her that she’d been involved in several car accidents, including one that occurred while she was under the influence of Xanax and alcohol. Mosunic said she made Xavier promise to never do it again.
“Well, guess what? It did happen again,” Mosunic said. “And this time, you caused a tragic accident that killed your friend, my daughter, who is now gone.”
Waller’s brother, Jacob Waller, said he knew something was wrong after the barrage of text messages he received on the night of March 4. His suspicions deepened on March 5 when he did not receive Sidnie’s daily morning text, a routine in which she sent him an inspirational message each day.
“How could you leave Sidnie to die?” he asked Xavier. “I can only imagine how scared and frightened Sidnie was while trapped underwater not knowing where the exit was. I hope that is what prison is going to feel like for you: no exit.”
Waller’s father, Donald Waller, said that on the night of March 4, he knew the women were going out and told them over the phone, “Be careful, have fun and I love you.” He told Xavier, “You threw out the first thing I said to the both of you, ‘Be careful.’”
Xavier apologized to Waller’s family and friends in attendance and said she would do what she could to be an “advocate” regarding the dangers of drinking and driving.
“I made a reckless choice,” she said. “My reckless choice ultimately took the life of one of the closest friends I’ve ever had …. I’m sorry for the pain and anger you all feel. I’m sorry for taking Sidnie away. There’s nothing I can do to ever make up for this.”
— City News Service
San Diego, CA
Man Stabbed 4 Times Outside San Diego Bar; Suspect Arrested
The victim was smoking outside the business when a 35-year-old man approached him, threatened to kill him and pulled a knife at around 10 p.m. Monday in the 900 block of Cardiff Street, according to the San Diego Police Department.
Police said the attacker stabbed the man twice in the chest and twice in the arm. It was unclear what prompted the stabbing.
San Diego, CA
USA fans pack San Diego bar to cheer on USMNT’s dominant World Cup knockout win
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Fans packed Fairplay in North Park to cheer on the U.S. Men’s National Team’s dominant World Cup win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, with more than 400 people filling the venue before kickoff.
The crowd reached max capacity with ease, with some fans arriving as early as 8:45 a.m.
Brittney Slack was among those who showed up ready to go bright and early, with a blue sequin shirt and her laptop to “work from home” — or something like that.
ABC 10News
“Does your boss know this is happening?” ABC 10News asked.
“You know, I was in a virtual meeting this morning in the full garb, so I think they’re aware. But you know what? Americans are great at multitasking. I think we’re one of the most competitive nations, not only in sports but in the business world as well. So, here we are,” Slack said.
The U.S. men fought hard for their first knockout-stage win since 2002, beating Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0, drawing fans of all levels of soccer fandom.
“To me, it doesn’t matter if it’s ping pong, if it’s foosball, if it’s soccer, if it’s baseball. I’m going to root for America no matter what. Obviously, this is an amazing event on a world stage, so it’s a lot of fun,” Nick Montesano said.
Indiana Rockwell, perhaps the youngest fan in the bar, summed up the energy.
“It’s really loud, but I’m really proud of the USA,” Rockwell said.
ABC 10News
Fairplay owner Adam Cook took it a step further — turning the bar into a stage to lead a USA chant after the win was secured.
The U.S. takes on Belgium on Monday at 5 p.m. PT at Lumen Field, referred to as Seattle Stadium during the tournament.
Follow ABC 10News Anchor Max Goldwasser on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
San Diego, CA
San Diego family celebrates UCSD graduation amid ICE fears
Why this matters
Tens of thousands of children who are U.S. citizens live with an undocumented parent in San Diego County. Fears of deportation can alter their lives.
Emily Galicia’s mother stood out among the thousands of friends and family members gathered on a grass lawn at UC San Diego’s 2026 graduation ceremony.
Her red felt hat was easy to spot as she weaved through the crowd, scanning the smiling graduates filing off the stage for her daughter, a bouquet of white roses and a teddy bear clutched in her arm.
But earlier in her senior year, Galicia had worried her mom wouldn’t be there to celebrate her graduation at all.
In October, her mom hadn’t returned home after a scheduled appointment with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Instead, she had been detained and held in ICE custody, leaving Galicia, 22, and her older sister, 26, on their own for about a month.
“I never thought it would happen,” Galicia said.
President Donald Trump’s administration is on a mission to carry out the largest deportation in U.S. history. It has sparked political debates and pointed discussions about public safety and American identity, but the impact on the children of undocumented parents is much less abstract.
Immigration advocates say the administration has targeted immigrant families who have been in the U.S. for decades, some of whom have been checking in regularly with federal officials — despite claims from officials that they are focusing on deporting the “worst of the worst.”
This week, the Supreme Court delivered one of the most significant blows to the administration’s immigration agenda so far — a decision with profound consequences for immigrant families. The justices ruled 6-3 against allowing the administration to eliminate birthright citizenship for babies born on American soil to some parents without citizenship.
But other policy changes remain in place that could affect thousands of immigrant parents and their kids locally. According to an estimate from the nonprofit American Immigration Council, about 56,500 children under 18 lived with an undocumented parent in San Diego County in 2023.
While Galicia’s mom was eventually released from detention, the arrest altered her youngest daughter’s last year in college: Galicia moved her classes online to be able to take her mom to immigration and medical appointments, she spent less time with friends in her senior year of college, and she lived the constant anxiety that immigration agents were watching her family.
“If it was a choice between graduating and helping my mom, I would choose to help my mom,” Galicia said.
For families and communities across the U.S., graduation season is a time for celebration and optimism for the future. For immigrant families in particular, a child’s graduation can mean the realization of dreams generations in the making, through sacrifices and hard work.
That was true for Galicia and her family earlier this month on the UCSD campus.
Her graduation cap was decorated in pink, with lace and cloth roses adorning the top, along with the words, “Lo logré, Mama,” written in pearl beads.
“I made it, Mom.”


The biggest lesson
Galicia knew the sacrifices her mom, who used to come home from long days of work with swollen feet and tired eyes, made for her and sister.
After the sisters’ dad died from a heart attack, Galicia’s mom considered moving her daughters back to her home country of Mexico, where the rest of her family remained.
She decided instead that they should grow up and go to school in their own home country, the U.S.
“I always tell them: The three of us are in this together, and together we always pull through,” Galicia’s mom said in Spanish.

inewsource is not naming Galicia’s mother because she has a pending immigration case and her family fears retaliation from the government. She has been detained by ICE twice, the first time during the first Trump administration.
The oldest daughter Serenity, then 17, had to figure out how to pay rent, post bail for her mom and take care of her younger sister. When ICE detained her mom again almost 10 years later, Serenity said she felt no more prepared as she was when she was a teenager.
“I think most of those days it was just me sitting on my desk and crying at the same time while doing what I needed to do for work,” she said.
According to ICE, the agency made about 10,500 arrests in San Diego and Imperial counties in the first 14 months of Trump’s second term. About 1,500 of those arrests happened near schools, hospitals, houses of worship and other places after the administration loosened guidelines around enforcement in such “sensitive locations.”
Most of those arrested, like Galicia’s mother, have no criminal record, according to an inewsource analysis of ICE arrests in the region from Trump’s inauguration through October 2025.
Galicia graduated June 13 with a degree in economics and a minor in ethnic studies. She said she wants to use her degree to help working-class immigrant families like hers and support her mom.
Outside of the graduation ceremony, the three posed for photos in front of a green hedge, laughing and crying as they embraced the graduating Galicia in the middle.
Despite the recent challenges, Galicia holds onto the biggest lesson her mom bestowed: Have hope for the future.
“People can take everything away from you, and you can essentially go down to rock bottom, but there’s always a way to keep going forward,” Galicia said.
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