A Salinas man received life in prison under California’s three-strikes law. 54-year-old Mark Rivera was sentenced on Thursday by a Monterey County judge following his February conviction of evading an officer, driving while under the influence, and hit and run from 2009. Rivera received his first strike in 1995 when he intentionally tried to beat a train across the tracks in Castroville while drunk, and was struck, killing his passenger. He was convicted of intentionally hitting five vehicles at speeds of over 100 miles per hour on I-5 in 2003. Rivera has been found guilty of DUI seven times.
