LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – The families of a couple killed by a drunk driver, traveling the wrong way on a highway, faced the man in court on Monday.
“This pain is a pain that you’re never going to understand, unless it affected your child,” Mary Galindo said.
Her son Antonio Aguilera, 21, died on June 1 while driving from Utah to Arizona with his girlfriend Virginia Whiting.
The crash happened on Interstate 11, outside of Boulder City.
“You’re left with the wondering of what could’ve been done to change the events in that life-shattering day,” Deanna Whiting, Virginia’s mother, said. Virginia was 19-years-old.
On Monday, Clark County District Court Judge Jessica Peterson sentenced Martin Andino to 14 years in prison for crashing into their vehicle.
“When I first learned of what happened, I was angered that Mr. Andino lived,” Deanna Whiting said.
Several members of Aguilera and Whiting’s families gave testimony during Andino’s sentencing, reflecting on the impact of losing their loved ones.
“I couldn’t see my son the way he left him. I just couldn’t,” Mary Galindo said. “Nobody would ever understand how much he meant to us. We pass his room, we see his bed empty every single day.”
Andino, 37, accepted a plea deal last month, avoiding a trial.