A 28-year-old Pleasanton man has been sentenced to 14 years and 8 months in state prison for a crash on the edge of San Ramon that killed a Castro Valley nurse last November. Police said he had been driving drunk at more than 150 mph.
The sentence
Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Stephanie Clarke handed down the sentence for Badal Dholaria on Oct. 15, Danville San Ramon reported. Dholaria had pleaded no contest to manslaughter, driving under the influence and assault. He received credit for 322 days already served and 48 days for good behavior, so he is likely to serve about 12.5 years.
Dholaria was first charged with murder. Under the plea deal the murder charge was dismissed and he took the shorter prison term, the East Bay Times reported from court records. The deal also meant no trial; one had been scheduled to start Nov. 9.
The crash
Police said Dholaria was driving a Tesla west on Crow Canyon Road at more than 150 mph around 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 29, 2025. Near Bollinger Canyon Road, his car hit a Ford Bronco. Alix Sparks, 41, a nurse who lived in Castro Valley, was a passenger in the Bronco and died at the scene. Her husband, Gregory Sparks, was driving and was hurt.
Dholaria later admitted to police that he had had "two shots" before driving, the Times reported. Court filings say that after the crash, officers and firefighters told him to power down the Tesla because of the fire risk, and he was "argumentative" and refused.
In court
Gregory Sparks told the court the couple had been driving home from a hike at Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve with their two dogs. One of the dogs was also killed. "I watched the love of my life die in my arms in front of my eyes, all because a drunk driver with a new Tesla wanted to see how fast he could go," he said.
Friends and colleagues described Alix Sparks as a baker, gardener and hiker and an experienced health care professional. Dholaria's attorney said her client "expresses his deepest remorse and sincerest condolences." Clarke noted that Dholaria had no prior record. She imposed the minimum $150 fine and kept open the option of ordering restitution to the Sparks family at a later hearing.