DUBLIN — A Tracy woman has been sentenced to four years in prison for killing a man and woman who were celebrating their wedding anniversary when their motorcycle was struck by a drunk driver, records show.
Courtney Andrade, who is also known as Courtney Peterson, was sentenced after pleading no contest to two vehicular manslaughter charges and two drunk driving charges, through a plea deal with Alameda County prosecutors. The victims, 63-year-old Mark Nida and 64-year-old Kathleen Seifert, were killed Oct. 14, 2018 in a collision on Altamont Pass Road, near Livermore.
Andrade spent a grand total of five days in jail between during the time between the collision and her sentencing, according to court records. She can reduce her prison sentence even further with good behavior.
Nida and Seifert were out celebrating their anniversary and looking forward to life after retirement, according to court records.
Andrade’s sentencing hearing was well-attended by a group of Nida and Seifert’s loved ones, many of whom spoke out in court. Some decried the sentence as too lenient — one calling it a “sweetheart deal” — while others simply went to memorialize their friends.
“Mark had a nickname called ‘Mother Mark,’ and he was kind of like the mom of our whole family of friends,” Nida’s friend. Rick Turnhole, said at the hearing. “He’s the one that got us together for events. He’s the one that checked up on us…He was very much like a cornerstone of our family.”
“(Seifert) was his angel,” Turnhole continued, later adding, “(Nida) was a hell of a man. It’s just a damn shame.”
James Bustamante, the attorney representing Andrade, said she was too emotional to speak at the hearing. But he submitted a letter of apology she wrote, and said that the tragedy will stay with her forever.
“(Andrade) will have to live with that for the rest of her life every day. She will not forget it,” Bustamante said. “She will be removed from her three young kids for a period of time, and she wants to just get back to her community, be a responsible member of the community.”
Judge Jennifer Madden called it a “completely avoidable” wreck, noting that Andrade was traveling “potentially 30 miles” faster than the posted speed limit, combined with the drinking. Police said in court papers her blood-alcohol level was nearly twice the legal limit.
“Ms. Andrade, I know that you, yourself, have three young boys, one of whom has been born since this accident, and your actions could have caused you to be seriously injured, your husband who was a passenger in that car to be seriously injured,” Madden said, later adding, “I know from the letter and the words that you wrote, that you live with this every day, but nonetheless, you get to live and you get to continue your life and two people don’t get to.”
