Man gets stiff sentence in 5 Freeway street-racing deaths
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A man has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for street racing on the 5 Freeway in Commerce three years ago and causing a multi-car crash that ended the lives of two young friends and a UPS driver.
Alfonso Morillo faced the man in court who pleaded guilty to more than a dozen charges stemming from illegal street racing which caused the tragic crash. That man, Dealio Lockhart, was in court for sentencing.
Morillo survived the horrific wreck with a broken neck. Two of his friends in the car with him did not survive. Another friend remains in a coma. Morillo told Eyewitness News he could have been killed in the crash.
"I couldn't look straight into his eyes, I just couldn't look into his face, I was shaking entirely," he said.
Lockhart lost control of his car while racing another vehicle at speeds well over 100 mph. His car clipped a UPS truck which slammed into the vehicle Morillo and the other three were in as they were returning from a trip to Disneyland.
Michelle Littlefield and Brian Lewandowski were killed. The driver of the UPS truck Scott Treadway died in the crash. It's still an emotional nightmare for Alfonso.
"I just broke down and cried and I remember my parents being there because I found out through social media that they had passed away," Morillo said. "And then I asked my mom, 'Is this true?' And she's like, 'Yes.'"
The grief-stricken impact witness statements from family members of victims was tear-filled. Afterward, the judge allowed Lockhart to speak to the family members. He stood up and basically told them he was sorry for the unimaginable pain and suffering he had caused them, and he admitted that he was racing that night. He said the only thing on his mind at that moment was his selfish goal to win.
The judge sentenced Lockhart to 22 years in prison. Morillo said the punishment can't reduce the pain of loss, but it's justice.
