TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - A 24-year-old Visalia DUI driver was found guilty of rape of an unconscious woman in 2020, the Tulare County District Attorney's Office announced on Monday. According to the DA, just after midnight on Christmas Eve 2020, Visalia CHP saw a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed on Road 132. Their radar indicated the vehicle was traveling 78 mph in a 55 mph zone. Prosecuting attorneys state the vehicle failed to yield as CHP pursued with lights and sirens, reaching up to 125 mph. Eventually, the car veered off the road, hitting a pole near Avenue 384. In the vehicle was the driver, identified as 24-year-old Elijah Silva, another man and a woman; all of whom survived. While en route to the hospital, court records state the woman told medics she believed she was sexually assaulted and a nurse administered a SART kit. The DA says the investigation established the woman and friends were drinking with Silva, who she just met that night. Silva had given her shots and directly poured alcohol in her mouth. She then fell asleep in her car and woke up after the crash. In early 2022, officials say the California Department of Justice confirmed the swabs from the SART kit strongly supported Silva's DNA was present. Prior to these results, the DA says Silva pleaded guilty in 2021 to evading an officer, DUI causing injury, and driving without a license. He was sentenced to a year in jail and three years probation. While on probation in 2023, he was charged with misdemeanor battery on a significant other and vandalism. On Thursday, March 20, prosecuting attorneys reported Silva was convicted. The DA says Silva, who remains in custody, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 18 and could face 16 years in prison. ...read more read less