(FOX40.COM) — A man was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty to four counts of second-degree murder in the case of a deadly crash on I-80 in November 2021.
The Nevada County District Attorney’s Office said Michael Kelley was sentenced to 36 years to life. He was charged with murder since he was found to be under the influence at the time of the crash and had a previous DUI conviction.
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DUI-related convictions in California include what is known as the Watson advisement, when a person is warned in court that another DUI-related incident that causes death may include a murder charge.
On the morning of November 20, 2021, Kelley had a blood alcohol level that was more than twice the legal limit when he entered the highway near Truckee, the DA’s office said.
The Montano family, two 29-year-old parents and their three children under age 10 had also departed that morning from North Highlands heading toward Utah when they crashed into Kelley’s vehicle near Eagle Lakes Road.
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Both parents and two of their children died in the crash. The only survivor in their vehicle was the youngest child, who was 4 at the time, although he had multiple injuries, family members and the family’s attorney said to FOX40.com at the time.
The driver of a third vehicle involved in the crash also survived.
In the days after the crash, an uncle of the surviving child said that he and his wife would take him in.
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