Man Sentenced In Drunk Driving Death Of Colts Player, Uber Driver

INDIANAPOLIS, IN — The man who plead guilty in July to driving drunk in a February crash that killed Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson and his Uber driver Jeffrey Monroe was sentenced Friday. WXIN said Manuel Orrego-Savala was sentenced to 16 years in prison in court Friday, after hearing from family members of both victims.

Orrego-Savala's sentencing comes one month after he wrote a letter to Judge Grant Hawkins, in which he admitted to having a drinking problem and that he "was not trying to kill or hurt anyone." WXIN said in the letter, the man wrote, "I ask the family- the courts- and God to all please forgive me.”

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In July, Manuel Orrego-Savala, 37, pleaded guilty to two counts of operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .15 or more, causing death. He had a BAC of 0.19 percent, or more than twice Indiana's legal limit of .08 percent, when his truck crashed into Uber driver Monroe, 54, of Avon and Jackson, 26, as they stood outside Monroe's car on the shoulder of Interstate 70. Investigators have said Monroe was transporting Jackson for the ride-sharing service on Feb. 4 and had pulled over after Jackson became ill, Patch reported.

Orrego-Savala was deported from the U.S. in 2007 and 2009 and was back in the country illegally at the time of the crash, authorities said.

Photo credit: Indiana State Police