DENVER—A man accused of crashing his pickup into a family of four, killing three of them, and then driving away pleaded guilty Monday to vehicular homicide, drunken driving and other charges.
Lawrence Trujillo, 36, faces up to 174 years in prison when he’s sentenced on Oct. 2.
He also pleaded guilty to fatal child abuse, vehicular assault, reckless driving and leaving the scene.
“Lawrence Trujillo is a good person. He does not want to relive that night,” Trujillo’s attorney, Rob Bernhardt said after the hearing. “This is everyone’s worst nightmare, when it comes to drinking and driving.”
Frank Bingham, who was injured when his two daughters and wife died, said he hopes Trujillo’s guilty plea doesn’t reduce his sentence.
“If he ever comes out of prison, he should be quite an old man,” he said.
Police said Trujillo was driving a pickup in Denver’s Lower Downtown District the night of Nov. 10 when he ran a red light and hit Rebecca and Frank Bingham and their children Garrison, 2, and Macie, 4, who were at a crosswalk.
Rebecca Bingham was pushing a stroller. Garrison, Macie and Rebecca Bingham were killed.
“There was no excuse for it,” police spokesman Sonny Jackson said at the time. “It is one of the most horrific accidents we’ve had.”
Trujillo had pleaded not guilty in January and was scheduled to go on trial Aug. 7. But he told a judge Monday he wanted to plead guilty to avoid a trial for the sake of his own family and the victims’ family.
A passenger in Trujillo’s pickup, Eric Snell, pleaded guilty in May to driving under the influence and being an accessory to crime. Snell, 35, of Denver faces up to 90 days in jail and two years of probation.
He had agreed to testify against Trujillo.
