MIAMI (WSVN) - After nearly five years, a man who struck and killed four people with his white van on Interstate 95 has accepted a plea deal.
Standing in a Miami courtroom on Friday morning, Lionel Orrego apologized to the families of the victims in the August 2018 crash.
“I’m sorry. From the bottom of my soul, I’m sorry,” he said.
The 47-year-old heard his sentence, handed out by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge William L. Altfield.
“You will be sentenced to 10 years in state prison,” said Altfield.
If he had been convicted during a trial, he would have faced up to 78 years in prison.
The courtroom was packed with Orrego’s family members and relatives of those who were killed.
Family members of the victims were allowed to speak in court.
“I hope you can sleep well,” said a woman as she held up a picture of one of the victims.
“I will pray to God that you learn how to pray to God and ask for forgiveness,” said another family member.
Investigators said Orrego’s van slammed into a group of good Samaritans who had stopped to help another group of motorcycle riders involved in a crash along the northbound lanes of I-95 near Northwest 62nd Street.
Two men and two women were killed. Three others were injured in the crash.
Orrego was also charged with three counts of DUI with serious bodily injury and three misdemeanor counts of DUI with property damage.
After accepting his sentence, Orrego was cuffed and taken away.
The mother of one of the victims collapsed in the hallway moments later, overcome with grief.
Four and a half years after this tragedy, there is no some closure for loved ones, but the pain persists.
As he left the courthouse, Vladimir Diaz, the father of one of the victims, gave a warning about the dangers of drinking and driving.
“If you drink, don’t drive; that’s it. The pain that you produce when you cause this kind of tragedy, there is no word to explain,” he said. “Don’t do that. Don’t do it! You kill.”
Orrego’s prison sentence will be followed by five years of probation, and he will never be allowed to drive again.
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