A man from Guatemala living illegally in the US was on Friday sentenced to the maximum of 16 years in prison for a drunk-driving crash that killed Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson and his Uber driver.
A Marion County judge sentenced Manuel Orrego-Savala after hearing emotional testimony from Jackson’s mother and the widow of Jeffrey Monroe, the 54-year-old driver Jackson had hired from the ride-sharing service the night of the deadly February crash.
Orrego-Savala, 37, in July pleaded guilty to two counts of operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol content of .15 or more, causing death. The sentence marked the maximum possible under his plea agreement.
Orrego-Savala, who was deported in 2007 and 2009, had a blood-alcohol content of 0.19 — about two times Indiana’s legal limit — when his truck crashed into Jackson and Monroe on Feb. 4, investigators said.
Monroe, of Avon, Indiana, had pulled over when 26-year-old Jackson became ill. Both men were standing outside Monroe’s car on the highway’s shoulder when Orrego-Savala’s truck crashed into them.
Authorities said Orrego-Savala was walking away from the crash when a state trooper detained him.
Under his plea agreement, prosecutors dropped two counts of failing to remain at the scene of an accident.
Monroe’s widow, Deborah Monroe, leered at Orrego-Savala after she took the witness stand while holding a framed photograph of herself and her late husband of 23 years.
She told the court that the crash had killed “the greatest love of my life” and destroyed their retirement plans, which included travel and fulfilling her husband’s dream of going to the Great Wall of China.
Her husband’s death had left her and her relatives grief-stricken, their lives permanently changed, she said.
“My family and I are serving a life sentence because of you,” she said, speaking directly to Orrego-Savala, who kept his head lowered during much of Friday’s hearing. “You’re a drunk, a liar, a murderer and a coward.”
Jackson grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and started eight games for the Colts during the 2016 season, finishing third on the team with 61 tackles. He was considered a possible starter at inside linebacker for last year, but missed the season after suffering a training camp injury.
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