Bakersfield man gets 4 months in prison for blinding KCSO pilot with laser during street race
Mar. 27—A 20-year-old Bakersfield man was sentenced to four months in prison after going to a street race and aiming a laser pointer's beam at a Kern County Sheriff's helicopter, causing the pilot temporary flash blindness, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California.
Andrew Nathan Hernandez was near Hughes and White lanes on Dec. 26, 2020 at a street race when he led law enforcement on a nine-minute, 11-mile high speed race before he was apprehended, according to a news release.
The laser beam caused the KCSO pilot's vision to be affected and led to temporary flash blindness and "after images," the release added.
The Federal Aviation Administration says laser strikes hitting aircrafts increased from 6,852 in 2020 to 9,457 in 2022. These incidents happened more likely in the western Pacific and southern regions of the United States.
Editor's note: This story has been changed to correct the amount of time Hernandez was sentenced to spend in prison.
