A teenage girl driving on a learner’s permit who struck and killed a motorcyclist last spring was sentenced Friday to up to two years in the Division of Youth Corrections.
Samantha Esparza, 17, pleaded guilty in January to charges of vehicular homicide DUI and misdemeanor third-degree assault.
According to the 17th Judicial District attorney’s office, Esparza did not have a valid driver’s license on April 18, 2014, when she drove her 2005 Dodge Neon into oncoming traffic and hit Gary Melillo, 52, as he rode his motorcycle in the 7200 block of Colorado 2 in Commerce City.
Police said Esparza had a blood-alcohol content of 0.09 and was speeding, traveling at least 53 mph, on impact.
Three other teens were in the vehicle at the time of the crash.
Esparza was distracted by a cellphone or passengers in the vehicle when she drove onto the shoulder of southbound Colorado 2 and swerved to avoid striking a pole, fishtailing and ending up in the northbound lanes, where she struck Melillo’s motorcycle, officials said.
Esparza initially was charged as a juvenile.
She pleaded guilty as part of an agreement in which she pleaded guilty as an adult but would be sentenced as a juvenile.
