Unlicensed driver pleads no contest to crash that killed 5

FRESNO, Calif. -- The unlicensed Fresno driver who ran a stop sign and hit a family vehicle that exploded in flames and killed a mother and her four children has now admitted her crime.

Juana Bejarano Martinez plead no contest Tuesday to misdemeanor manslaughter charges. Isaac, Nikko, Esmeralda, Jada and Breanna Saucedo all died in the collision she caused near Riverdale, Calif. The father of the children was driving behind his wife and saw it happen, but couldn't save them from the fiery car.

Bejarano cried in court as she entered her plea, and her attorney said she feels horrible about the crash. But because it wasn't a DUI, prosecutors couldn't prove she was grossly negligent, so it became a misdemeanor charge. The maximum punishment will be one year in jail.

"She's very sorry for what's happened," said her defense attorney, Sam Salhab. "She knows she can't imagine what the father is going through."

Joe Saucedo watched it all happen as his family was torn apart. He couldn't penetrate 15-foot tall flames to reach them. The attorney for Bejarano-Martinez pointed to the explosion as her defense.

"I think that explosion is more responsible for the death of the children and the victim than Juana was," Salhab said.

He says the explosion wasn't what you'd expect after that type of collision, so his client doesn't deserve all the blame. She wears a patch over her right eye, but Salhab says it doesn't affect her driving, and she hasn't had a ticket in 25 years behind the wheel, following speed limits and other laws to a tee. She said she can't explain why this one time, she didn't.

"She doesn't remember getting into the collision," Salhab said. "She remembers approaching the stop sign and that's the last thing she remembers. She was hospitalized for five days as a result of the accident."

Salhab says Bejarano-Martinez has a green card and auto insurance, but she never got a driver's license for fear of jeopardizing her residency status. Now, a felony conviction could lead to her deportation.

Legal analyst Tony Capozzi says blaming the explosion instead of the driver may work with a jury, but ultimately, Bejarano-Martinez bears some responsibility.

"But for this accident, there wouldn't have been an explosion," Capozzi said. "That's going to be what the prosecution is going to say. So all in all, I think she started the cause and effect of the death of these people."