Hartford Woman Sentenced To 71/2 Years In Fatal 2013 Crash On Route 2

Sept. 15--MANCHESTER -- The driver in a fatal one-car crash that left one dead and two injured in 2013 was sentenced Tuesday to 71/2 years in prison.

Zuleyma Cruz, 27, of Hartford, stood silent but teary-eyed in Superior Court in Manchester, her black makeup smeared under her eyes, as Judge Laura F. Baldini delivered the sentence. She glanced over her shoulder at her family repeatedly as she was taken into custody. The family of Samuel Pacheco, who had been seated in the front passenger seat of the car and died from his injuries, cried and embraced in their seats.

Earlier this year, Cruz accepted a plea deal in which she pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle and second-degree assault with a motor vehicle. Originally, she had also been charged with failure to maintain established lane, speeding, operating a motor vehicle under suspension, illegal operating of a motor vehicle without minimum insurance, and operating under the influence.

She will serve five years of probation after her release.

"I miss Sammy every day," Cruz said in a prepared statement to the court, her voice shaky and choked with tears. "I know I need to pay for this tragedy."

According to her arrest warrant application, Cruz was driving a Nissan Altima on Route 2 westbound in East Hartford around 6 a.m. on Aug. 13, 2013 when she lost control of the car and crashed into two trees. Cruz had a blood alcohol content of 0.109 and had been traveling at an estimated 86 mph in 65 mph zone, state police said in a court document. The legal limit is .08.

Pacheco, 26, was pronounced dead at the scene. Two other passengers in the vehicle, Melinda Delgado and Anthony Santiago, both also of Hartford, were injured when they were ejected from the back seat of the car.

Baldini told Cruz that while she acknowledged her apology, Cruz's actions showed "an extreme lack of insight and judgment."

Baldini said that at the time of the crash, Cruz drove under a suspended license and had two prior convictions of driving while her license was suspended.. Soon after the crash, Baldini added, Cruz was arrested on unrelated federal drug charges, which are still pending.

Baldini said Cruz failed to follow through with rehabilitation and has continued to smoke marijuana.

"Actions speak louder than words," Baldini said. "This is the conduct of an individual without respect for the law."

Jenny Rodriguez, Pacheco's aunt, said after the sentencing that the family was satisfied with the ruling.

"We hope she learned her lesson. Those 71/2 years will give her time to think about what she's done because she hasn't learned nothing," Rodriguez said. "We got justice for him, for Sammy. We don't want other families to go through the pain we're going through."

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