Delhi man sentenced in distracted driving crash that killed horse and rider

A Delhi man who killed a teen and her horse in a distracted driving crash near Turlock has been convicted and sentenced.

Isaac Leal, 29, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence as part of a plea agreement, according to a press release from the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office.

The accident occurred the morning of Aug. 11, 2021 on East Harding Road, just west of Highway 99.

Summer Gardner Vigil, 19, was riding her horse Riggs in the westbound lane of Harding when she was hit from behind by a Chevrolet Silverado pickup driven by Leal.

Vigil was ejected from her horse and suffered a severe brain injury. She died in a hospital three days later. Riggs died at the scene of the crash.

Leal told California Highway Patrol officers who investigated the crash that he was driving about 50 mph when he briefly took his eyes off the road to put a cap back on his water bottle. When he looked up, Vigil and Riggs were right in front of him and he was unable to avoid hitting them, according to the release.

During a hearing last week, Judge Valli Israels gave Leal a 120-day suspended jail sentence with one year of probation and 220 hours of community service. Valli also ordered Leal to attend a six-hour Driver’s Safety course and a six-hour Alcohol Awareness program. The sentence was a result of Leal’s plea agreement.

Vigil lived in Turlock and attended Pitman High School, her mother, Regina Vigil-Gardner, told The Bee around the time of her daughter’ death. Vigil wanted a horse since she was a child; her mother gave her Riggs for her 18th birthday.

Vigil rode or walked Riggs on a route near their home every day for a year and was on that route when she was killed, her mother said.