Alameda man gets 6 years in crash that killed pedestrian, a sentence he’s already served

Justin Benton, 42, pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter in the 2020 death of 34-year-old Wansiri Panyapong.

OAKLAND — A Bay Area man was released from jail last month after pleading no contest to vehicular manslaughter in the 2020 crash that killed a 34-year-old pedestrian in Alameda, court records sow.

Justin Benton, 42, of Alameda, pleaded no contest in April to a count of vehicular manslaughter in the death of Wansiri Panyapong. On May 22, he was formally sentenced to six years in prison, but a judge found that with good behavior credits, Benton was eligible for release. He’s been in Santa Rita Jail since his arrest in January 2020.

Benton was originally charged with vehicular manslaughter while under the influence, but didn’t concede to being intoxicated at the time of the crash. Police originally accused him of having used drugs because cocaine was found in his pocket and he had marks on his arm consistent with prior drug use, according to the police report. Benton’s attorney filed a motion last year saying subsequent blood tests proved he “did not have effective levels of narcotics in his blood in this case.”

According to police, on Jan. 31, 2020, Benton took his girlfriend’s car and left their Alameda home. Around 2 p.m., he allegedly drove over a curb and ran into Panyapong, who was walking on the sidewalk on the 3000 block of Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway.

At the time Benton was on probation for a reckless driving conviction, and told police he knew his driving privileges had been suspended, according to court records. Benton’s attorney wrote in court records that he is a combat veteran struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder.