INDIANAPOLIS – The man accused of driving drunk and killing two people in February, including an Indianapolis Colts player, pleaded guilty Friday afternoon to causing their deaths.
Manuel Orrego-Zavala pleaded guilty to two counts of operating a motor vehicle with an ACE (blood alcohol content) of .15 or more, causing death.
Zavala is accused of having a blood alcohol content of 0.239 percent – three times the legal limit – when the truck he was driving crashed into a vehicle on the shoulder of I-70 near Holt Road on Feb. 4. The collision killed Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson, who was a passenger in the vehicle, and Uber driver Jeffrey Monroe.
Zavala first fled the scene on foot, police said at the time. Troopers located him on the ramp to Holt Road and stopped him, at which point he reportedly admitted he was the driver of the truck.
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With the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop the two charges of failure to remain at the scene of an accident.
Zavala faces a maximum sentence of 16 years in prison, as well as a possible fine of up to $20,000.
Zavala also faces charges of perjury, forgery, identity deception and false informing out of Boone County for allegedly using the alias of Alex Cabrera Gonsales 2017 for driving without a license. Zavala initially identified himself as Cabrera Gonsales to police following the February crash.
Additionally, federal immigration officials have filed charges of illegal re-entry by a previously deported alien against Zavala.
A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Zavala for Sept. 14 at 1:00 p.m. in Marion County Criminal Court 5.
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