INDIANAPOLIS – A judge sentenced a man two nearly two decades in prison for a deadly September 2022 drunk-driving crash.
Ismael Beltran-Torres pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death when operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Five other counts were dismissed as part of his plea agreement.
The sentence included a total of 18 years in the Indiana Department of Correction for both counts. Beltran-Torres received credit for time served. Upon his release, his driver’s license will be suspended for 24 years, according to the sentencing order.
The crash happened on Sept. 3, 2022. According to court documents, Beltran-Torres ran a red light around 8:30 p.m. near U.S. 31 and Edgewood Avenue on the south side.
His Dodge Ram, heading west on Edgewood, collided with a Jeep Compass that was heading north on U.S. 31 crossing Edgewood Avenue with the green light. The collision spun the Jeep 90 degrees and pushed it to the west side of the intersection.
Beltran-Torres’ Ram then crashed into a Toyota Corolla heading north on U.S. 31; the Corolla spun out and crashed into a Hyundai Sonata on the southbound side.
Robert J. Fullerton, 52, a passenger in the Jeep, died as a result of the crash, which left several other people injured. Multiple eyewitness accounts reported seeing Beltran-Torres’ pickup truck go through a red light and hit the Jeep. Surveillance video from a nearby Speedway gas station showed the same thing.
After the crash, witnesses found Beltran-Torres appearing to go in and out of consciousness behind the wheel. Two children in the back seat of his vehicle were crying.
Police responding to the scene smelled the odor of an alcoholic beverage on Beltran-Torres, who had bloodshot, glassy eyes and exhibited “violent, abusive behavior” toward medical staff, according to court documents.
A blood draw showed his blood alcohol level was .173, more than twice the state’s legal limit of .08.
The court pushed back Beltran-Torres’ trial multiple times before scheduling a change of plea hearing. A judge accepted the terms of his plea agreement and sentenced him on Monday.