The driver of a box truck that killed a 17-month-old boy in a crash on Interstate 25 near Loveland in December was sentenced to Community Corrections instead of prison Monday afternoon.
Judge Joseph Findley sentenced Jose Salazar, 36, to 16 ½ years in Community Corrections during a hearing in 8th Judicial District Court in Fort Collins. Community Corrections is a sentencing alternative in lieu of prison for felony offenders.
“I can imagine very few scenarios where there wouldn’t be (a prison sentence),” Findley said during the hearing.
Salazar looked emotionally distraught and held his head low throughout the hearing. Before he was sentenced, he said he wished he could take the place of 17-month-old Elijah Manley.
“I deserve whatever they want to give me,” he said during the hearing.
Salazar veered from the center lane and struck a Lexus in the right lane of I-25 near Crossroads Boulevard, The box truck pushed the Lexus forward into two other vehicles.
Two adults and one of the children in the Lexus were transported to the hospital, but the other child in the vehicle, later identified by the Larimer County Coroner’s office as Elijah, was pronounced dead at the scene. Sean Manley, Elijah’s dad, was one of the adults injured in the car crash.
The four-vehicle crash occurred because of an earlier incident where a vehicle involved in a medical emergency had to pull to the side of the road for care,
Salazar that he was reaching for his cellphone and that . In , he pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and vehicular assault, both with a DUI basis, and tampering with physical evidence, according to court records.
During the hearing, Elijah’s dad, Sean Manley, said his son was extraordinarily compassionate, especially toward his big sister, and had an impressive understanding of feelings for how young he was.
“A bright, fun little boy that brought joy to all who had the pleasure of spending time with him in his 17 months,” Sean Manley said during the hearing. “Mr. Salazar we know that you did not intend to kill our son on that day, and we want you to know that we forgive you.”
Throughout the hearing, everyone acknowledged Sean Manley’s impressive grace for Salazar, including Findley, Salazar’s fiancé, both prosecution and defense attorneys, and the Colorado State Patrol officer that investigated the crash.
CSP Investigator Joelle Hand was immediately brought to tears Monday thinking back to the crash. She said Elijah should have had a lifetime ahead of him.
“Eli’s life was instead ended by a preventable act,” she said during the hearing.
said that he has a huge heart, loves children, and would never hurt anyone. She added that he’s having nightmares and has been in distress over killing Elijah.“This is something he will have to live with for the rest of his life,” she said during the hearing.
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Prosecution Attorney Erin Butler said this was a heartbreaking case and requested 19 ½ years in Community Corrections, which she said was the maximum sentence the court could grant based on the Manley family’s request for a rehabilitative sentence instead of prison.
Butler said she was concerned that a less substantial sentence would send a weak message to the community about the ramifications of Salazar’s actions. She also said that Salazar’s remorse, lack of criminal history, and family support should also be considered in the sentence.
“I do not have words to express how deeply I admire and respect the Manley family’s grace and request for mercy in this case,” she said during the hearing.
Butler said that in a phone extraction investigators found that Salazar was looking at images and unlocked his phone several times in the minutes leading up to the crash. Salazar told law enforcement he was reaching for his .
Butler also said that Salazar hid a marijuana pipe with residue in a water bottle. Salazar smoked marijuana that morning to law enforcement.
“This was a combination of extraordinarily reckless driving with marijuana use that created a situation of a matter of who was going to be injured by Mr. Salazar’s driving, not a matter of if …” Butler said during the hearing.
Defense Attorney Christopher Decker said in his 30 years of practicing law that he has never felt so emotionally moved by a family’s grace. He said it was remarkable that the Manley family wasn’t requesting a maximum Department of Corrections sentence.
He also said that he has come to learn that Salazar is sensitive, caring, committed to his family, has an exceptional work ethic, and has taken responsibility for the hurt he caused.
“He was using his phone trying to navigate the path of travel for his truck,” the attorney said, during the hearing, adding that it wasn’t an excuse but an explanation. “He was not driving excessively fast. He was not impaired at a level that we see in some of these accidents … and he remained at the scene. He was distraught.”
Decker requested 10 to 12 years in Community Corrections.
Ultimately, Findley sentenced Salazar to 12 years in Community Corrections for the vehicular homicide charge; three years for the vehicular assault charge; and 1 ½ years for the tampering with physical evidence charge. All three Community Corrections sentences will run consecutively, Findley said, meaning one after another.
He said there could not be a case more serious, and very few similar cases, where a Department of Corrections sentence wouldn’t have been the outcome.
Findley said that he hopes the community understands that Salazar’s sentence was based on the grace offered by the Manley family and Salazar’s individual characteristics, like his lack of criminal history and accountability.
“Vengeance is easy and grace is hard,” Findley said during the hearing.
The judge said that the Manley family specifically requested marijuana rehabilitation, and added that marijuana, in general, has created an almost invisible level of intoxication, but can cause accidents.
“I take full responsibility for everything and I’m sorry for what I have done …” Salazar said during the hearing.
