Pima County prosecutor releases statement on distracted driving case | Local News

TUCSON, Arizona (KVOA) – The Pima County District Attorney's Office has released a statement regarding the verdict in the distracted driving trial.

“Today, a Pima County jury found Jana Giron guilty on one count of tampering with evidence in connection with the deaths of Caitlin Festerling and Paul Garcia. The other counts, manslaughter, criminal damage and endangerment, resulted in a jury failure to reach a verdict. Pima County prosecutors will seek a retrial in this case.”

Jana Giron was found guilty of tampering with evidence after a two-week trial.

Giron was accused of killing Paul Garcia and Caitlin Festerling in 2019.

The accident occurred near Shannon and Lambert Road.

Giron's phone, which was seized by investigators, showed that text messages to another parent on her child's soccer team had disappeared. She claimed the messages were sent before she left and did not know why they were no longer on her phone.

On November 13, 2019, Festerling and Garcia were traveling near Shannon Road and Sahuaro Divide when their vehicle was allegedly struck from behind by Giron.

As a result of the accident, their car veered into oncoming traffic, where it was hit head-on by a truck. Both Festerling and Garcia lost their lives.

There was no verdict on the other charges, including manslaughter and negligent homicide.