CENTREVILLE, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – A man who was charged with fleeing the scene after he caused a fatal crash last November that killed an infant boy from Mendon was sentenced last Friday in St. Joseph County Circuit Court after he entered guilty pleas to three charges.
According to St. Joseph County on line court records, 24-year-old Efrain Jimenez-Lopez admitted his guilt January 19, 2023 to charges of failure to stop at the scene of a fatal accident, operating under the influence of alcohol causing death and driving with a suspended license causing death.
He was ordered to serve between seven and 15 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections by Judge Paul Stutesman.
Jimenez-Lopez was given credit for 120 days already served.
He admitted to authorities that he had been drinking on Tuesday, November 1 when he rear ended a minivan that was preparing to turn left from M-60 onto Angevine Road in Mendon Township a few minutes before 7:00 a.m.
The crash killed six-month-old Alden Adams and injured his mother Samantha. Detectives say Jimenez-Lopez ran into a cornfield to escape police but was quickly located and arrested.
Authorities say he did not have a valid driver’s license and was identified as a Mexican citizen living in the U.S. illegally.
reporting from Jim Measel
