- Luis Garcia-Diaz was sentenced to 12-30 years for a fatal crash.
- The crash killed six agricultural workers on May 18, 2024, in Idaho.
- Garcia-Diaz's blood alcohol level was 0.192%, exceeding the legal limit.
IDAHO FALLS — A 27-year-old man was sentenced to prison Tuesday after causing a crash that killed six people in May 2024.
District Judge Dane Watkins Jr. sentenced Luis Garcia-Diaz to a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 30 years in prison for the deaths of Abel Mejía Martínez, 43, Pedro Manuel Alcantar Mejía, 26, Brandon Ponce Gallegos, 24, Jose Guadalupe Sánchez Medina, 20, Luis Enrique Sereno Perez, 32 and Javier Gomez Alcantar, 36.
He will be given credit for approximately 15 months already served in the local jail.
Garcia Diaz, a citizen of Colombia, was also given a federal immigration detainer.
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal immigration detainer is a "request from ICE that asks a federal, state or local law enforcement agency, including jails, prisons or other confinement facilities to notify the requesting agency as early as possible before they release a removable alien" and "hold the alien for up to 48 hours beyond the time they would ordinarily release them so DHS has time to assume custody in accordance with federal immigration law."
Garcia-Diaz was initially charged with six felony counts of vehicular manslaughter but was later also charged with four new felony charges for driving under the influence and causing great bodily harm, permanent disability, or disfigurement.
In June, Garcia-Diaz signed a plea agreement, agreeing to plead guilty to two felony vehicular manslaughter charges. In exchange, the prosecution dropped the remaining charges.
The fatal crash occurred in the early morning hours of May 18, 2024, on U.S. Highway 20 close to the Lindsay Boulevard exit in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
Garcia-Diaz was driving a Dodge Ram pickup east when "it was driven left of center and collided with a westbound Chevrolet passenger van," according to a news release from the Idaho State Police.
The van was occupied by 14 passengers, plus the driver. All passengers were confirmed to be agricultural workers from Mexico in the United States on H-2A Temporary Agricultural Worker visas.
Court documents say Garcia-Diaz's blood alcohol level was at 0.192% at the time of the crash. The legal limit is 0.08%.
The hearing
Fourteen people, many of them family and friends of Garcia-Diaz, were present over Zoom during the hearing, as they listened to attorneys argue over the prison term he should serve for the deaths of the six men.
None of the victims' families presented impact statements.
Bonneville County prosecutor Randy Neal argued that Garcia-Diaz should face a hefty prison sentence due to the crash involving alcohol and killing six innocent people.
"It's disappointing to see in a pre-sentence investigation that Mr. Garcia really kind of downplays the involvement of alcohol here," Neal said. "It was probably a day like most days, that they were traveling to work in this rather crowded van, and probably a day of strenuous work ahead of them, and in an instant, the six lost their lives. A number of the rest of them were injured, at least four were severely injured."
Garcia-Diaz's defense attorney, Stephen Miekle, recommended a minimum of three years and a maximum of seven years in prison, saying that his family and friends know him to be responsible and well-behaved.
"(Garcia-Diaz's family) describes him as trustworthy, hardworking, smart, honest, loyal. They also describe him as most considerate," Miekle said. "He has expressed deep sadness and remorse for what he had done."
Garcia-Diaz does not speak English but provided a short statement to the court, which was translated by a court translator, expressing his apologies to the victims' families.
"I want to ask forgiveness of the families," Garcia-Diaz said through the translator. "Since the accident, I know that every day I think of your families. I ask God for them, and that they forgive me."
Before ruling, Watkins asked the bailiff to turn the Zoom screen toward him so he could see the expressions of both the victim's families and Garcia-Diaz's families. Many on the screen were in tears, often turning off their cameras when they became emotional.
"I know there are a number of people that are viewing this, I imagine, in different parts of the world. If these individuals were in the courtroom, I would be looking into their eyes, watching their expressions and demeanor," Watkins said. "Let me report to all of you that are there and watching this over Zoom that the defendant has tears in his eyes and is affected by the sentencing today."
Watkins continued, saying that Garcia-Diaz may not have intended to kill anybody, but even so, the end is the same, no matter the intention.
"Why is it that these cases are so difficult? I think that I know. It is because in this matter, as in other similar matters, those individuals that commit these offenses have no intent to commit this outcome. No anger, no jealousy, no resentment, no financial gain, simply no intent," Watkins said. "However, the outcome with the loss of life is often the same if there had been jealousy, anger, resentment or financial gain."
Concluding, Watkins recited the names of those who were killed in the crash, giving his sympathies to the families for their losses, and telling them that their presence on behalf of their loved ones is recognized.
"For all of you who have suffered a great loss, you know that your loved one will not come back. These individuals are lost. Their life taken," Watkins said. "And I know that the loss that each of you are experiencing is immeasurable. So while you're not here in this courtroom, I want you to know that your presence is."
