Man sentenced to 9 years in prison for Atlantis DUI crash that killed passenger

Hannah Phillips, Palm Beach Post
·1 min read

WEST PALM BEACH — Three days before he was set to go to trial, an Atlantis-area man pleaded guilty for his role in the fatal car crash that killed his passenger in February.

Circuit Judge Daliah Weiss sentenced Victor Lopez Rios, 53, to nine years in prison on Dec. 9 on charges of DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and driving without a license. Rios, whose license expired in 2008, collided with a Toyota Camry in Atlantis on the evening of Feb. 8, killing his 54-year-old passenger and friend, Marcos Rodriguez Luna.

The arrest:February fatal crash leads to DUI manslaughter charge for man with long suspended license

Witnesses told investigators they saw Rios swerving across westbound Lantana Road in a white Ford F150 as he approached the intersection at Seminole Drive. Moments later, he drove into the path of the Camry, which traveled eastbound on Seminole.

Rios' blood alcohol content was more than three times the legal limit, according to his arrest report.

He risked spending up to 65 years in prison had he been found guilty of the charges at trial. Assistant State Attorney Storm Tropea and Assistant Public Defender Elizabeth Ramsey helped negotiate the nine-year prison sentence in exchange for Rios' guilty plea. Tropea assured Weiss that Luna's family also agreed to the plea deal.

Judge Daliah Weiss considered rejecting the plea deal of Victor Lopez Rios, who pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide for the February crash that killed his passenger, before ultimately accepting the terms of the plea Friday.
Judge Daliah Weiss considered rejecting the plea deal of Victor Lopez Rios, who pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide for the February crash that killed his passenger, before ultimately accepting the terms of the plea Friday.

Weiss called the agreement a "really good plea for you, sir, that gives me some hesitation, quite frankly," she said about rejecting the plea in favor of a harsher sentence before ultimately agreeing to it.

As a condition of the agreement, Rios' driver's license was revoked for life.

Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Man gets prison time for fatal drunk driving crash in Atlantis