A drunken driver who caused a crash that killed a beloved Denver educator received 15 years in jail.
Community College of Denver professor Yvonne Frye was returning home from grading papers around 2 a.m. Oct. 6, 2010 at East 14th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard when Jose Nevarez-Coronado hit her. He was blackout drunk and traveling at 83 mph. The crash swept Frye’s car 280 feet from the point of impact. The 62-year-old died at the scene.
Nearly three dozen of Frye’s supporters gathered in the courtroom, describing her as an angel and mother to all who spent 39 years of her life changing students’ lives for the better.
One woman spoke of when she met Frye. She had been selling burritos on the street after immigrating to Denver when Frye told her to come to her office if she wanted an education.
“She didn’t speak Spanish, and I didn’t speak English. She taught me every single word I know,” she told the court.
A paramedic reported that a drunken Nevarez-Coronado laughed when he heard of Frye’s death after the auto accident.
The day of the sentencing, he said, “I’m really truly sorry for their loss. This was an accident in my eyes,” he said, adding that he wished he had been the one to die in the crash. “Apparently, she meant more to the community than me.”
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