An 18-year-old driver in Tucson, Arizona, received a 2.5-year prison sentence for leaving the scene of a fatal collision that killed a 75-year-old grandmother last November. Alexis Eduardo Ibarra-Guerrero struck Sally Alcaraz Rodriguez as she walked to a bus stop, then drove off after briefly stopping. The collision was ruled accidental, sparing him charges related to her death.
On November 3, Sally Alcaraz Rodriguez, a 75-year-old grandmother from Tucson, Arizona, was walking two blocks from her home to a bus stop for work when Alexis Eduardo Ibarra-Guerrero, 18, struck her with his car while driving without a license. Witnesses and investigators noted that Rodriguez ended up on the hood of the vehicle, which continued for several blocks before she fell off or was pushed off in the 200 block of West Tennessee Street. Dashcam footage captured Ibarra-Guerrero exiting the car, observing her in the street, and then fleeing, as described by prosecutors in court: 'He essentially looked at the victim… and decided to take off.' Police found Rodriguez dead at the scene. Ibarra-Guerrero, reportedly in the United States illegally, turned himself in, confessed to the hit-and-run, and pleaded guilty to one count of failure to remain at the scene of a fatal collision. A Pima County judge sentenced him last week to 2.5 years in prison, with credit for 100 days already served. His lawyer argued during sentencing that 'the evidence in this case goes to show that this was an accident,' leading to no charges for causing the death. Rodriguez's family expressed anger over the outcome. One of her six children, Maria Rodriguez-Romero, recalled: 'She was on top of the hood of the car.' Her son-in-law told reporters: 'I'm angry. … I've known people that have done less, and been charged with worse.' At the hearing, a family member urged: 'He needs to face the consequences that a grown man should. He messed up and now it's time for him to face the music.' The son-in-law added: 'The choices people make have real consequences. Our children, our future, must learn responsibility.' Unless deported, Ibarra-Guerrero faces release on supervision after his term. A GoFundMe described Rodriguez as a 'devoted mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and a pillar of our family and community.'
