by On Tuesday, a man suspected of DUI who killed four men in the other automobile after colliding with another vehicle at Kearny Mesa was given a 12-year term in state prison.
Aleim Garcia Alavez, 25, of San Marcos, entered a guilty plea in June to four counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated for the collision that happened on northbound state Route 163, close to Interstate 805, on July 19, 2024, at approximately 1:30 a.m.
The California Highway Patrol reports that Alavez’s Toyota Tacoma pickup collided with a Toyota Prius, causing the latter to lose control and crash, ejecting the four people.
Abdurrezak Hizmali, 27, Baris Savas, 25, Mahsun Dursun, 23, and Faruk Cetin, 27 were among them.
In addition to driving under the influence, Alavez’s car was traveling above 100 mph before the collision, according to Deputy District Attorney Spencer Sharpe.
Alavez was witnessed throwing alcohol containers over the side of the freeway overpass after a good Samaritan rescued him from his overturned truck, according to the prosecution.
According to Sharpe, he attempted to hide proof of a crime that claimed four lives.
Friends from Turkey were among the four victims. None of the men’s relatives showed up in person at the courthouse in downtown San Diego for the sentencing hearing, but several of them watched it from a distance.
“This courtroom would be packed with people for the four men whose lives this defendant took if it weren’t for thousands of miles and an ocean,” Sharpe said.
Alavez was given a sentence of 12 years in prison, which was the maximum punishment the prosecution had asked for. Kerry Armstrong, his defense lawyer, requested an eight-year sentence because of his client’s youth, lack of criminal history, and lack of regret.
Mr. Alavez is always extremely upset about what he has done to these families when I visit him in detention. Judge Marian Gaston of the Superior Court was told by Armstrong, “I can’t begin to tell you how remorseful he is.”
Alavez expressed his sincere regret and begged the families of the victims for forgiveness in a statement that was read aloud in court.
“It does not excuse my actions or my wrongdoings, even though what happened the night of the crash was an accident,” he stated.
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Gaston stated that she thought Alavez was sincere in his regrets and that he was headed in the right direction before the tragic collision. However, the judge ruled that the prosecution’s requested sentence was justified due to the victims’ fragility and the pace at which Alavez was traveling.
According to Gaston, the loss of life is undoubtedly heartbreaking, especially since it wasn’t necessary.
One of the victims was lying in the road when another driver came into the scene of the terrible collision and struck it. That driver was also taken into custody by the authorities, and he later entered a guilty plea to a misdemeanor DUI charge.
