Advertisement

Woman who killed Cal Poly student in drunken hit-and-run is headed back to prison

A 23-year-old Los Osos woman is returning to prison for again driving under the influence, three years after she was released for killing a Cal Poly student in a drunken hit-and-run.

Gianna Brencola, who spent 18 months in prison for her manslaughter conviction in the 2017 death of Kennedy Love, was arrested on Oct. 31, 2021, after striking four parked cars in Morro Bay while driving with a blood alcohol level exceeding 0.3 percent, according to a news release Monday from the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office.

Her reported blood alcohol content was more than three times the legal limit for driving, 0.08 percent, the release said.

Brencola allegedly tried to drive away from the scene of the crash but was stopped by two bystanders, one of whom physically removed her from the car while the other put the car in park and removed her keys from the ignition. The bystanders reported she tried to offer them money to let her go before police responded.

For her latest offense, she was sentenced to the maximum sentence of six years in prison based on her plea, double the normal maximum due to her past conviction for vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, the release said.

“Driving drunk again, after already serving a prison term for killing someone while driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, is without excuse,” District Attorney Dan Dow said in the news release. “Our criminal and victim justice system cannot force rehabilitation because each person must make their own decision to take advantage of the resources that have been provided. We plead with Ms. Brencola to stop her dangerous behavior and to take responsibility for her future by making the necessary choices to change.”

Kennedy Love, the Cal Poly student who was killed in a hit-and-run in August 2017, smiles during a visit to see the superbloom on the Carrizo Plain.
Kennedy Love, the Cal Poly student who was killed in a hit-and-run in August 2017, smiles during a visit to see the superbloom on the Carrizo Plain.

Los Osos woman hit Cal Poly student when she was 17

On Aug. 28, 2017, a then 17-year-old Brencola struck and killed a 21-year-old Cal Poly student, Kennedy Love, who was riding his bicycle on Foothill Boulevard in San Luis Obispo, the release said. She then fled the scene.

She entered an open plea in March 2018 and was sentenced to seven years in state prison the following month.

She was released early on Dec. 18, 2019, by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for participating in a community re-entry program.

Two years later, she was arrested for driving under the influence on Halloween in 2021, the release said.

Gianna Brencola, 18, of Los Osos, listens to her sentence on April 18, 2018. Brencola was sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted for driving under the influence again on Oct. 31, 2021.
Gianna Brencola, 18, of Los Osos, listens to her sentence on April 18, 2018. Brencola was sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted for driving under the influence again on Oct. 31, 2021.