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Driver sentenced for hitting 10-year-old girl walking to school in Arvada

Posted at 4:15 PM, Nov 02, 2020
and last updated 2020-11-02 18:15:04-05

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — A man found guilty of driving while impaired and running over a 10-year-old girl in Arvada was sentenced Friday.

Judge Laura Tighe sentenced Jose Morales-Reyes, 51, to eight years probation and two years jail work release. The First Judicial District Attorney's Office asked for a prison sentence that could have been up to nine years.

“We are very disappointed in this sentence,” District Attorney Pete Weir said. “This little girl suffered very serious injuries at the hands of Morales-Reyes. Her family deserves a sentence that more justly reflects the impact this has had on their child and family.”

On Nov. 8, 2019, the 10-year-old girl was walking home from school with her six-year-old sister on the sidewalk at 58th Ave. and Carr St. in Arvada when Morales-Reyes drove up over the curb and crashed into the 10-year-old, according to the DA's office. The 10-year-old suffered two broken legs, a broken arm, a concussion, a stomach laceration and a serious liver laceration. The six-year-old was not hurt. Morales-Reyes left the scene, but returned several minutes later.

A jury found Morales-Reyes guilty of leaving the scene with serious bodily injury, reckless vehicular assault, driving while ability impaired and reckless driving after a week-long trial in July.