PHOENIX — A DUI suspect involved in a deadly collision at a construction site who tried to blame the death on the victim has been sentenced.
Court records show that Jaime Garcia was sentenced last week to 10 and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter.
Phoenix police report that on November 11, 2018, around 2 a.m., they responded to 61st Avenue and Dobbins Road for a deadly collision at a construction site. The crash survivor, 27-year-old Jaime Garcia, told police that he and 28-year-old Gregory James left a bar, and James drove his truck because Garcia was too drunk to drive. He also said that James went around the Arizona Department of Transportation barriers at the Loop 202 construction site because he thought it was a shortcut to his home.
Police say the truck traveled through the site around 65 miles per hour before colliding with a Caterpillar excavator, a large piece of construction equipment.
Court documents say that police found James in an "unnatural position," and it was "as if he was repositioned after the collision."
Police found alcohol and a liquor store receipt in the truck. The time stamp on the receipt was just minutes before the collision. When they checked the surveillance video from the store, it showed that Garcia was driving the truck.
The autopsy report concluded that James had extensive damage to the right side of his body, which was consistent with the damage to the truck.
Police say Garcia's blood-alcohol content was .156 and also revealed that THC also impaired him.
