The man who took responsibility for killing three members of a Denver family during a drunken driving accident was sentenced today to 48 years in prison.
Judge Morris B. Hoffman sentenced Lawrence Trujillo, 36, for the Nov. 10, 2006, accident that killed Rebecca Bingham, 39, and her two children Macie, 4, and Garrison, 2.
Frank Bingham was injured but the only member of the family to survive.
Eric Snell, a passenger in Trujillo’s truck, was sentenced to six years of suspended sentence after pleading guilty to being an accessory to the crime. The suspended sentence means Snell will not serve prison time unless he violates probation.
He also will have to serve 90 days in the county jail for driving while under the influence during an incident that happened after the accident in a different vehicle.
Trujillo, in an unusual move in July, pleaded guilty to several charges of vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, leaving the scene of a fatal accident and child abuse resulting in death without any concessions from prosecutors.
He told the judge he did not want to put Frank Bingham and his own family through any more emotional hardship.
Snell, 36, took a plea agreement and would have testified against Trujillo if the case had gone to trial.
Arthur Kane: 303-954-1244 or akane@denverpost.com
