He struck and killed a pedestrian at nearly 100 mph, then lied about it. How he'll pay

Julius Whigham II, Palm Beach Post
·2 min read

WEST PALM BEACH — A judge has sentenced a suburban West Palm Beach man to more than 13 years in prison after he pleaded guilty last week to charges in a hit-and-run crash that killed a pedestrian nearly one year ago.

Juan Luis Valladares, 27, pleaded to one count each of vehicular homicide, DUI manslaughter, leaving the scene of a crash involving death, tampering with evidence and falsely reporting a crime in the death of 52-year-old Ramon Castellon.

During a court hearing on Wednesday, May 8, Circuit Judge Scott Suskauer imposed concurrent sentences of 13 years and six months on the homicide, manslaughter and leaving the scene charges, five years on the tampering charge and 364 days on the false report charge.

Suskauer also revoked Valladares' driver's license for life.

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Prosecutors and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office investigators said Valladares was driving while under the influence of alcohol on the night of May 21, 2023 when he struck and killed Castellon near Forest Hill Boulevard and Military Trail.

An arrest report said Valladares was speeding as he drove his 2023 Dodge Charger north on Military and ran a red light at Forest Hill just moments before the crash. His vehicle's maximum speed near the time of the collision was 106 mph, PBSO said.

Witnesses told investigators Valladares and a female passenger exited the vehicle shortly after the crash and ran away. The couple went home and changed their clothing, and Valladares called 911 to report that his vehicle had been stolen, the sheriff's office said.

Valladares' passenger, identified as Marina Mirabella, was arrested on charges of tampering with evidence and giving false information. She has pleaded not guilty to both charges and is scheduled to have a hearing before Suskauer on May 22.

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Judge sentences driver who lied to PBSO after car killed pedestrian