A driver fleeing the U.S. Border Patrol who crashed his truck in Boulevard, killing three passengers, was sentenced Feb. 5 to 20 years and eight months in state prison.
Deputy District Attorney Clayton Carr said Luis Alberto Virgen, 22, will have to serve 85% of that term because it involved violent felonies.
“This case is indeed a tragedy,” said El Cajon Superior Court Judge Robert Amador.
Killed were Erika Gonzalez-Cardoso, 38, Celerino Jimenez-Flores, 34, and Jorge Garcia-Isordia, 22. They were believed to be unauthorized immigrants as were the other seven passengers.
The crash occurred Nov. 29, 2018 at 4:30 p.m. while it was raining and Virgen refused to pull over after Border Patrol agents tried to intercept him on Buckman Springs Road.
Virgen began weaving in and out of traffic, and it was estimated he drove at 100 mph. He did drive over a spike strip, and eventually the truck overturned, ejecting 10 people east of Crestwood Road on a dirt and rock embankment.
Virgen pleaded guilty Sept. 30 to three counts of voluntary manslaughter in the deaths, and three counts of second-degree murder were dismissed.
Virgen also pleaded guilty to six felony counts of reckless driving with serious bodily injury to other passengers and a misdemeanor count of reckless driving.
Carr said the guilty pleas to the reckless driving charges reflect injuries to seven of the passengers.
Amador imposed six years for each death to equal 18 years plus two years and eight months for the reckless driving counts.
