Driver who ran over two people outside Mountain View sports bar takes plea deal

It took nearly six years to wind through the legal system, but the driver who ran over two patrons in the Sports Page bar parking lot in 2018 accepted a plea deal that finally will put the case to rest.

Gerardo Munoz, 37, pleaded no contest on Dec. 21 to the felony of driving under the influence of alcohol and causing an injury. He also plead to enhancements of injury or death to more than one person and personal infliction of great bodily injury, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.

Munoz is facing a maximum prison sentence of two years with judicial discretion at the sentencing, according to a March 12 court hearing. He requested voluntary home detention before his next sentencing date, which is scheduled for Oct. 1, the District Attorney’s Office said.

The sports bar fight exceeded the usual rough-and-tumble brawls often associated with late night drinking. Munoz drove over a man and woman with his Toyota Corolla sedan after a parking lot altercation in the early hours of May 26, 2018.

The impact of the car collision flipped the man over the car while his girlfriend was trapped underneath it. To free the woman, a group of bystanders turned the car over. Another group dragged Munoz out of the car and beat him to unconsciousness, according to the investigative report.

Like many of the patrons, Munoz and a friend had attended a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre before heading to the bar for the rest of the evening. According to Munoz, he drank three beers at the concert and shared a marijuana cigarette with another attendee. At the bar, he consumed a beer and a whiskey, he said.

The atmosphere at the bar was initially welcoming, according to Munoz and his friend, who provided a statement to the police. But this changed as the evening progressed when somebody walked up to them and said, “Don’t try to do anything bad,” according to the friend.

Munoz and his friend then went outside where somebody offered them a cigarette. After Munoz did not return the cigarette, they were hit and pushed to the ground by some men. The two did not retaliate and decided to leave, realizing they were not welcome at the bar anymore, the friend said. 

Munoz attributed the hostility to the “biker” clothes he was wearing. Munoz said he dressed like a biker because he likes the style, but was not part of a motorcycle club or gang. In the statement provided to the police, Munoz said the men that hit him looked like they belonged to a biker gang.

Munoz and the friend got into the car, with Munoz as the driver even though he was visibly intoxicated, the friend said. A group of people were standing by the parking lot exit, yelling at them. Munoz drove towards the exit and hit two pedestrians, then put the car in park, according to the friend.

Video surveillance from a Google security camera, across from the bar, showed Munoz’s car backing up, stopping momentarily and then accelerating towards a concrete island where people had gathered near the exit. The vehicle collided with several bystanders and then stopped. A large number of people surrounded the car, making it difficult to see what was happening afterwards on the video footage, according to the report.

But witnesses said that bystanders flipped over the car to free a woman who was trapped underneath it. The woman sustained back and head injuries and broken ribs. Her boyfriend, who also was struck by the car, sustained broken ribs, a broken elbow and a dislocated shoulder, the report said.

A group of men forcibly removed Munoz from the car after it came to a stop and started punching him. Munoz fell to the ground and did not get back up. They continued punching and kicking Munoz while he lay unconscious on the ground. Munoz suffered a fractured trachea and orbital bone fractures from the assault, the report said. Police never identified the men who attacked Munoz.

When police arrived at the parking lot, the scene was chaotic, according to the report. About 20 people were there, with several shouting, “He tried to kill us,” referring to Munoz. Police located Munoz and the injured couple, and all three were transported to the hospital.

Two days later, investigators questioned Munoz about the incident while he was being held in county jail. Munoz said he did not intend to hit the pedestrians but was trying to jump the curb with his car to exit the parking lot. He did not realize that he hit anyone until after he was told that he collided with two people, Munoz said. He also denied witnesses’ accounts that he had attempted to flee the scene in his car.

Munoz told the investigator that he just wanted to listen and dance to the band at the bar and that he did not expect anything like this to happen. Munoz expressed remorse for hitting the bystanders, the report said. He also said he did not believe he was driving under the influence at the time of the collision.