By Jim Holt, Santa Clarita Signal

A South Lake Tahoe man responsible for sending two young Valencia women to the hospital with serious injuries in a May DUI-related collision was taken to state prison Thursday to begin serving a two-year sentence, law enforcement officials said.

Michael Guevara, 32, was picked up at the Pitchess North Facility jail by officers with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and taken to a state prison, a spokesman at the facility said Thursday.

Guebara entered a plea of no contest June 6 when he appeared in San Fernando Superior Court to the charge of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury, said a spokeswoman of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

“He was sentenced on June 6 to two years in state prison,” District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Jane Robison said Thursday.

Justice was served quickly in this felony case compared to other felony charges filed in Santa Clarita Valley and still being addressed month to month in San Fernando Superior Court, officials said.

“He took responsibility for his actions,” said Detective Travis Kelly of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, who arrested Guevara shortly after the crash.

On May 25, Guevara’s Chevy Suburban hit two other “small sedans” at the intersection of Newhall Ranch Road and Copper Hill Drive in Valencia.

“He ran a red light and hit two cars making a left-hand turn from the other direction,” Kelly said. “As a result of the crash, there were two patients.”

One young woman suffered internal injuries and broken bones. The second, an occupant of the same car, was also seriously hurt, having suffered injuries more serious than first believed, Kelly said.

“They’re doing OK and recovering, but slowly,” he said Thursday.

The driver of the other “small sedan” was not seriously injured, Kelly said.