INDIANAPOLIS — The man responsible for the drunk-driving crash that killed an Indianapolis Colts linebacker and his Uber driver in February has been sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Manuel Orrego-Zavala, 37, pleaded guilty in July to two counts of Operating a Motor Vehicle With a Blood Alcohol Concentration of 0.15 or More.
Police say Orrego-Zavala had a blood alcohol content of 0.19 percent when he crashed into Colts player Edwin Jackson and Avon resident Jeffrey Monroe on Interstate 70.
Monroe had pulled his car to the side of the road because Jackson was ill. The two men were standing next to the car when they were hit by Orrego-Zavala’s pickup truck.
U.S. immigration officials say Orrego-Zavala was in the country illegally at the time of the crash.
After the sentencing was announced, Marion Co. Prosecutor Terry Curry said the deaths of Edwin Jackson and Jeffrey Monroe should serve as a “stark reminder” of the fatal consequences that can result from drunk driving.
“Mr. Orrego-Zavala made the decision to drive while under the influence of alcohol, he took the lives of Mr. Jackson and Mr. Monroe, and now he will face the consequences for that action,” Curry said.
Orrego-Zavala faces pending criminal charges in Boone County and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in two unrelated cases.
(Photo by RTV6.)
