Man Sentenced In Drunk Driving Death Of 8-Year-Old Girl
GRAND RAPIDS (WWJ/AP) - A Grand Rapids man will spend up to 15 years in prison for the drunken driving death of an 8-year-old Detroit girl.
Kent County Circuit Judge Mark Trusock sentenced 22-year-old Byron Juarez Thursday, calling the events that led to Dayma Roblero's death "every parent's worst nightmare."
Juarez' minimum sentence is 4 years and 9 months. He was charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing death.
Police say Juarez was behind the wheel around 2 p.m. Dec. 23 when he ran a red light and crashed into a car that was carrying six people who had just left a family gathering for Christmas. Roblero was killed and five others were taken to the hospital for treatment, including a 4-year-old and a 10-year-old who were seriously injured.
Police say after the crash, Juarez and his passenger, 25-year-old Marco Coronado-Augustin, got out of the vehicle and ran -- but witnesses helped officers catch the men, who were taken into custody.
According to police, Juarez's blood-alcohol level was .16, twice the legal limit to drive a vehicle in Michigan.
Trusock called the incident "a classic example of someone who's probably a fairly decent individual, of someone who decided to get drunk, drive a car and kill someone."
Juarez, speaking through a Spanish-English interpreter, said he knows "it's a great deal of pain losing a daughter ... those weren't my intentions. It was a very big mistake."
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