Tara Oskam, 21, and David Torrez, 15, died in the March 11 crash.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Alejandro Torrez will spend at least 28 years in prison for his role in a March 11 crash that killed two people in Kentwood.
The 17-year-old was sentenced to a range of 28-to-60 years for each count of second-degree murder, to be served concurrent, for the deaths of Tara Oskam, 21, and David Torrez, 15.
Judge Paul Sullivan handed down the sentence in front of a full courtroom Tuesday, Jan. 9, in Kent County Circuit Court.
« You’ll be in prison a long time, and I appreciate that fact, but at 43 or 44 years old, when you get out, you will still have a pretty good life to live to perhaps have… the family that your best friend and Tara cannot have, » Sullivan said.
« I believe in my heart you did not mean for this to happen, but your actions were so outrageous in driving so bad, that you certainly anticipated this as a very distinct possibility. »
Torrez will be eligible for parole in 27 years after receiving credit for 293 days already served in jail. Sullivan’s sentence is at the higher end of the sentencing guidelines, and is based on Torrez’s two most serious convictions.
« To the family, there’s nothing I can say that will change anything, » Torrez said. « But I want to tell all of you I’m sorry. I ask God for forgiveness every night. I’m sorry. »
Torrez led police on a high-speed chase on March 11 following an attempted traffic stop for speeding. His 15-year-old cousin, David Torrez, was in the passenger seat.
While fleeing the state police, Torrez drove through red lights and reached 116 mph on 52nd Street SE before he crashed into a Honda Accord, driven by Oskam, at Broadmoor Avenue.
The collision destroyed both cars, Oskam and David Torrez were killed in the crash. Alejandro Torrez suffered serious injuries and was hospitalized before being charged with the two deaths.
In December, Torrez was convicted of 10 felonies, including two counts of second-degree murder, at the conclusion of his December trial. A jury deliberated for about two hours before finding him guilty of all charges.
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The other convictions included reckless driving causing death, fleeing and eluding causing death, operating under the influences of drugs causing death and driving while license is suspended causing death.
Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Lawrence Boivin told the jury the collision ripped apart the front of Oskam’s 1997 Honda Accord, sending the engine « 30 to 40 feet » away from the wreck. It blew the door opposite the impact clear off the car, he said, and ejected Oskam and David Torrez, who were both wearing seat belts.
Alejandro Torrez did not have a driver’s license at the time of the crash, and he had been stopped three times the year before for driving without a license.
Boivin also told the jury that Torrez had marijuana and Valium in his system at the time of the crash.
Torrez was sentenced Tuesday in front of a packed court room. Security officers had to turn people away minutes before the hearing started due to insufficient seating.
Oskam’s boyfriend, Chad Biesel, as well as her parents, Deborah and Robert Oskam, gave victims’ statements before Sullivan handed down his sentence.
« I had to say my vows at her funeral, » Biesel said. « I should have said them on our wedding day… I’ve felt pain more than I thought possible the past 10 months. »
Tara Oskam’s parents both said they hope to someday be able to forgive Alejandro Torrez, though they haven’t been able to yet. They also provided him with a small Bible.
« I will forgive you someday, » Deborah Oskam said. « I’m working on it. I’m on a journey. It’s what God and Tara would want me to do. I’m praying for you and David and your family and friends. I hope you know the love of Jesus. »
Sullivan said he received about 35 letters from friends and family of Oskam, as well as a stack from Torrez’s family.
Torrez has the opportunity to appeal the ruling through the appeals court.
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