LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. —
The Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney says that a man from North Carolina was given a five-year jail sentence Thursday for involuntary manslaughter after a truck driver died in a crash in Loudoun County in September 2023.
Court records show that on September 18, 2023, around 7 p.m., Loudoun County Sheriff’s deputies reacted to a crash involving several vehicles on Sully Road near the Sterling Boulevard overpass.
When they got there, a semi-truck was on its side and fully on fire.
Cesar Yepez, the driver of the semi-truck, got terrible burns all over his body in the accident. According to court records, he was flown to a hospital but died two weeks later from his injuries.
NC driver Jose Padilla Espinoza stayed at the scene of the accident. Court papers said Padilla Espinoza was going very fast when he changed lanes improperly and hit the semi-truck on the driver’s side front wheel.
When the semi-truck hit something, it went off the road, rolled over, and then caught fire. Documents from the court show that Padilla Espinoza was going 111 mph just before the crash.
“There were moments of inspiration during this terrible tragedy, when regular people stopped their cars, dove through traffic, and ran to the burning wreck to help a stranger in any way they could.” “I want to thank those kind people, as well as Loudoun County Fire and Rescue and the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, for what they did that day,” said Bob Anderson, the Commonwealth’s Attorney.
Padilla Espinoza was arrested on October 2, 2023, and pleaded guilty to murder after being forced to do so on March 7, 2024.
Padilla Espinoza was given a 10-year prison term on June 20, but five years will be suspended if he completes five years of probation, three years will be supervised and two will be unsupervised.
Source: WJLA
