Man charged in fatal crash takes plea deal
Admitting that he had been drinking and smoking marijuana prior to causing a two-car crash earlier this year in which one person was killed, Levi Jesus Martinez-Abril accepted a plea offer Thursday morning in Yuma County Superior Court.
Appearing in custody with his attorney by his side, Martinez-Abril replied “guilty” when asked by Superior Court Judge Roger Nelson how he pleaded to one count of manslaughter in the death of 63-year-old Jorge Luis Gelabert of Yuma.
Nelson told Martinez-Abril that the offenses carried a sentence ranging from 7 to 21 years in prison, with the presumptive sentence being 10-1/2 years.
Nelson added that it also contained a stipulation that he be sentenced to the presumptive term of 10-1/2 years in prison.
In return for Martinez-Abril’s guilty plea, three counts of aggravated assault and one count of aggravated driving under the influence with a suspended license against him were dismissed.
Afterwards Nelson accepted the plea and scheduled Martinez-Abril’s sentencing for 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 2.
Martinez-Abril was arrested following his release from Yuma Regional Medical Center for injuries he received in the two-car crash that happened at approximately 5:23 p.m. on June 6 in the area of Somerton Avenue and County 10th Street.
The initial investigation revealed that a gray 2015 Hyundai Sonata was traveling southbound on Somerton Avenue when the driver, Martinez-Abril, crossed the centerline, veered onto the east side shoulder of the road, and collided with a guardrail. As the Hyundai came off the guardrail, it then collided head-on with a white 2001 Chrysler LHS that was traveling northbound on Somerton Avenue.
The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office Critical Accident Response Team and the Criminal Investigations Bureau responded to the scene and assumed the investigation.
The driver of the Chrysler LHS and two juvenile passengers were transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center by Rural Metro Fire Department ambulances for injuries sustained during the collision.
Gelabert, who was a front-seat passenger in the Chrysler, sustained fatal injuries as a result of the collision and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Martinez-Abril and a passenger of the Hyundai Sonata were also transported to YRMC with non life-threatening injuries.