Drunk driver who killed 2 Snohomish High School students sentenced
SEATTLE - On Friday, a judge sentenced 37-year-old Delfino Lopez-Morales to more than 12 years behind bars for killing two teenagers in 2023.
Riley Danard and Khalea Thoeuk were driving to West Seattle in March 2023. The two best friends were on their way to celebrate Danard’s 18th birthday.
During the sentencing, the prosecutor said that Lopez-Morales was driving the wrong way on the West Seattle bridge and going 100 mph when he hit the teens.
"I work in West Seattle, and every time I cross that bridge, I have to think about how my brother and his best friend were killed because they were trying to celebrate his birthday," said Danard’s sister Kallista.
Witnesses say truck was driving erratically before wrong-way crash killed 2 high school students
Two teenagers were killed in a head-on crash by a wrong-way driver in West Seattle. Witnesses recount seeing the truck drive erratically before the crash.
Several family and friends of Danard and Thoeuk spoke during the emotional hearing.
Family of Lopez-Morales also spoke during the sentencing and his defense attorney asked the judge for leniency, citing Lopez-Morales' regret and willingness to plead guilty to the charges.
"It hurts me to know that I hurt somebody. It wasn’t my intention to hurt anybody," said Lopez-Morales.
During her sentencing, Judge Angela Kaake told Lopez-Morales a bad decision does not make a person bad, but also said his recklessness destroyed the lives of many families.
She sentenced him to more than 12 years behind bars.
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