TAYLORSVILLE, Utah – A man who pleaded guilty to automobile homicide after a fatal car crash has been sentenced to serve one to 15 years in prison.
Manuel De Jesus Guinea slammed his truck into the back of a Subaru, which then crashed into three other vehicles, and a 3-year-old was killed in the crash.
Zane Thurber, 3, was sitting in a car seat in the back of the Subaru that was struck in the crash, which occurred in January.
Guinea was accused of driving under the influence of alcohol, and witnesses said the man attempted to hide among the crowd that gathered at the scene of the crash before he tried to escape.
“After the crash, he got out of the car and tried to blend in with the crowd that was around helping,” said Lt. Justin Hoyal of the Unified Police Department in January. “A citizen grabbed onto him and held him until officers arrived and took him into custody.”
A witness, “stated the driver smelled like a ‘bar’” when police took custody of the suspect, according to the probable cause statement.
Guinea faced 10 total charges but struck a plea deal in September in which he agreed to plead guilty to the one count of automobile homicide. Nine other charges were dropped, though Guinea agreed to pay restitution on all 10 charges.
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