Former youth coach gets prison time in crash that severed a boy’s hand

A former youth wrestling coach convicted in August of battery for causing a rollover crash that severed a 10-year-old boy’s hand was sentenced Wednesday to six years in state prison Thursday.

John Gilbert Martinez, 57, was allegedly intoxicated on prescription pills when he choked a 16-year-old as the teen was driving him to a hospital on Thompson Road in Nipomo in October 2016. The 10-year-old, who was riding in the back seat without a seatbelt, was thrown from the vehicle and suffered a collapsed lung, broken pelvis and a severed hand that was later surgically re-attached.

Martinez was initially facing six felony charges before he accepted a plea agreement on Aug. 24.

Martinez, who has remained in custody at the San Luis Obispo County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail since his arrest, will receive roughly a year of time-served credit.

He remained in jail Thursday afternoon pending transfer to Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials.

This story was originally published October 27, 2016 at 5:48 PM with the headline "Former youth coach gets prison time in crash that severed a boy’s hand."