Delfino Lopez-Morales was sentenced to 136 months in prison on November 8th for the deaths of Riley Danard and Kahlea Theouk, who were killed in a wrong-way collision on the West Seattle Bridge on March 22, 2023. King County Superior Court Judge Angela Kaake presided over the sentencing hearing.

Lopez-Morales was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of reckless driving on June 5th. According to charging documents, Lopez-Morales was driving a white pickup truck eastbound in the westbound lanes of the West Seattle Bridge with no lights on at the time of the collision. Multiple witnesses called 911 to report his reckless driving, and some had to take evasive action to avoid being hit. Witnesses estimated Lopez-Morales was driving at speeds between 70 and 90 miles per hour.

Judge Kaake acknowledged the devastating impact of Lopez-Morales’s actions on the victims’ families and friends, stating, "Two young adults who had their whole lives ahead of them. Family and friends who obviously love them and miss them. Two young adults who were barely 18 years old, taken from their families and friends way, way too soon". She went on to say, "Their families will not have the opportunity to see them as mature adults, meet any grandchildren, cousins, nieces, nephews that they may have had, and not be able to celebrate holidays and their own important life moments with them".

During the sentencing, Lopez-Morales expressed remorse for his actions, stating, "I wish my life would have perished and not their lives cuz nobody knows what I was going through throughout my lifetime". He also said, "So, everybody has a bad image with me now for what happened. But I hope they could understand that nobody’s perfect. Everybody makes mistakes and I’m manning up to my mistake".

Judge Kaake acknowledged Lopez-Morales’s remorse but emphasized the severity of his crime. She stated, "Your attorney asks this court to consider that this was not an intentional crime, that you did not intend to kill Riley and Khalea. However, the legislature has taken this into account in establishing what the court calls the standard sentence range. This is not an intentional crime. It is a reckless crime".

Judge Kaake also highlighted Lopez-Morales’s decision to drive under the influence of alcohol and drugs, stating, "You chose to drink alcohol and take drugs and then get into a vehicle. You drove for miles hitting other cars". A toxicology report showed that Lopez-Morales had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.14, well above the legal limit of 0.084.

In addition to the prison sentence, Lopez-Morales will be required to undergo alcohol and substance abuse treatment, attend a DUI victim's impact panel, and will be prohibited from driving a motor vehicle without an ignition interlock device.