A driver was sentenced to prison in a fiery crash on Route 28 in Loudoun County that killed a semi-truck driver with two children.
LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — A driver charged in a 111 mph crash that killed a semi-truck driver in Loudoun County was sentenced to prison time.
A judge in Loudoun County Circuit Court sentenced Jose Padilla Espinoza to 10 years in prison with five years suspended upon completion of five years of probation. The probation will include three years supervised and two years unsupervised.
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The sentence resulted from a Sept. 18, 2023 crash on Route 28/Sully Road near the Sterling Boulevard overpass. Loudoun County sheriff’s deputies responded around 7 p.m. and found a semi-truck that fully caught fire and was lying on the driver’s side. The truck driver, Cesar Yepez, 33, of Centreville, had extreme burns from the crash and was taken to the burn center. Yepez died two weeks later due to injuries from the crash.
Two bystanders were also injured by helping to pull Yepez from the burning truck.
“Out of this horrific tragedy there were moments of inspiration when regular citizens stopped their cars, dodged traffic and ran towards the burning wreck to help a stranger in any way that they could,” said Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney Bob Anderson in a statement. “I would like to thank those good Samaritans, Loudoun County Fire and Rescue and the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office for their heroic actions that day.”
Video footage of Route 28 showed Padilla Espinoza’s vehicle traveling at a high speed and making an improper lane change, causing the vehicle to strike the semi-truck’s front wheel. The crash caused the semi truck to leave the road, flip over and catch fire. Authorities say Padilla Espinoza’s car was going 111 mph five seconds before the crash.
Padilla Espinoza, who was 18 at the time, remained on the scene of the crash. He was arrested on Oct. 2, 2023 and pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter on March 7, 2024.
According to NBC Washington, Yepez was a husband and father of two young children. Padilla Espinoza offered an apology to Yepez’s family in court.
During the sentencing hearing in court, Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Nicole Wittmann and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jonathan Dickey argued that Padilla Espinoza made reckless actions that posed a risk to all those on the road.
“We hope that this sentence brings some closure to the family of the victim and deters dangerous driving behaviors on Loudoun County roads,” said Wittmann.
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