Driver admits to causing fiery, fatal crash in Sterling | 1local

A Charlotte, North Carolina, man has admitted to driving 111 mph in a 55 mph zone and causing a fiery crash that killed a truck driver in Sterling on Sept. 18. 

On March 7 in Loudoun Circuit Court, 19-year-old José Antonio Padilla Espinoza pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter for the crash on Route 28 near the Sterling Boulevard interchange. The penalty for involuntary manslaughter, a felony, is between one and 10 years.

The plea bargain, which was accepted by Judge Matthew Parke Snow, doesn’t include an agreement on the length of Padilla Espinoza’s sentence and state sentencing guideline recommendations haven’t been calculated yet. As part of the agreement, misdemeanor charges of aggressive driving, reckless driving by speed, improper passing, and illegally changing lanes, driving without insurance and driving with an altered license plate, were dropped. Padilla Espinoza is scheduled to be sentenced at 1 p.m. on June 20.

Virginia Department of Transportation video shows the southbound Nissan Altima driven by Padilla Espinoza and another vehicle to its left with the box truck to the right of the Nissan on the five-lane roadway just before the crash at 6:52 p.m. Padilla then loses control and sideswipes the truck driven by Cesar Yepez causing it to flip and burst into flames on the right shoulder of the road.

A proffer of facts written by Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Nicole Wittmann said the VDOT video showed Padilla Espinoza and the driver of the other vehicle were driving “extremely fast” before the crash and the crash was caused by Padilla Espinoza improperly changing lanes.

The Nissan’s event data recorder showed it was traveling at 111 mph five seconds before the crash, according to Wittmann. The driver of the other vehicle, which Padilla Espinoza said was a Mercedes-Benz, didn’t stop after the crash.

In a search warrant affidavit for the recorder, Deputy First Class Tyler D. Bradley, of the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, wrote that Padilla Espinoza told Deputy Joseph Fletcher at the crash scene that he had been racing the Mercedes before crashing. However, at Padilla Espinoza’s preliminary hearing in December, defense attorney Thomas B. Walsh admitted his client was speeding, but denied he was racing. He said Padilla Espinoza told him the Mercedes was approaching him from behind at a high speed and he tried to change lanes to let it pass him causing the crash.

Yepez, a 33-year-old Centreville resident and father of two, was badly burned in the crash. He died on Oct. 2. 

Yepez’s friend, Lauren Opauski, told the Times-Mirror in September that Yepez was driving for a food distribution company when the crash occurred. In March of 2023, he started his own trucking company, C’s Haulin, according to Opauski. She described him as a loyal friend who was caring and sensitive.

In a March 7 email, Opauski said Brianna Casucci, Yepez’s widow, has restarted his hauling business and held a blood drive in his name. Opauski said she and Casucci have also formed a nonprofit group to support burn victims.

“Cesar was always the friend who would show up for anyone, no matter the time, with no questions asked. It is so comforting to see strangers showing up for him now,” Opauski said. “When the days are long and our emotions are high, remembering there are people in the community still thinking about our fight helps to keep us pushing towards our goals.”

Casucci attended the court hearing along with about 25 friends and relatives of Yepez. A couple of them wiped away tears as Padilla Espinoza pleaded guilty and some wore red ribbons that said “#FightforCesar.”

Casucci said after the hearing that she and her family are coping as well as can be expected and she is asking the community to continue to support her husband. “I’m happy with the results,” she said of the plea bargain.