A man was sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to four charges of second-degree murder in connection with a fatal incident on Interstate 80 in November 2021.
According to the Nevada County District Attorney’s Office, Michael Kelley has been sentenced to 36 years to life. He was charged with murder since he was discovered to be under the influence at the time of the accident and had a prior DUI conviction.
In California, DUI convictions carry the Watson advisement, which warns a defendant in court that another DUI-related occurrence that results in death may result in a murder charge.
Kelley entered the highway near Truckee on the morning of November 20, 2021, with a blood alcohol level more than double the legal limit, according to the district attorney’s office.
The Montano family, which included two 29-year-old parents and three children under the age of ten, had also left North Highlands that morning, headed toward Utah, when they collided with Kelley’s vehicle around Eagle Lakes Road.
The crash killed both parents and two of their children. The youngest child, who was four at the time, was the only survivor in their vehicle, despite suffering several injuries, according to family members and the family’s attorney.
The driver of the third vehicle involved in the collision also survived.
In the days following the crash, the surviving child’s uncle announced that he and his wife would take him in.
