The 33-year-old illegal immigrant who hit and killed 16-year-old Highland High School band student Kelly Tracy was sentenced Friday to 14 years in prison, plus four years probation, County Attorney Andrew Thomas announced.
Manuel Contreras-Galdean plead guilty in October and was sentenced to one count each of manslaughter and aggravated assault in the November 2008 crash in Mesa.
“We appreciate the hard work of Mesa Police and our prosecutor in delivering justice in this tragic loss of life,” Thomas said in a statement. “This death was not an accident, it was a crime.”
According to Mesa Police, Contreras-Galdean failed to yield while making a left turn and crashed into Kelly’s car. She died at the hospital, and her then 17-year-old brother, Matthew, suffered serious injuries in the crash.
Contreras-Galdean admitted to police had six beers before the wreck.
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