A California man who killed four people in a high-speed DUI crash, then tried to dispose of alcohol containers instead of helping the victims, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Aleim Alavez, 25, pleaded guilty to four counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. On Tuesday, he appeared in San Diego Superior Court to hear his fate and offered an apology to the families of the four men who lost their lives: 27-year-old Faruk Cetin, 23-year-old Mahsun Dursun, 27-year-old Abdurrezak Hizmali, and 25-year-old Baris Savas — all Turkish refugees.
According to prosecutors, the crash occurred at about 1:30 a.m. on July 19, 2024, when Alavez was driving his Toyota Tacoma pickup truck at 108 mph. He slammed into a Toyota Prius carrying the four victims. The impact caused Alavez’s truck to flip upside down, while the Prius veered off the road and crashed. All four occupants were ejected from the vehicle and suffered fatal injuries.
Local CBS affiliate KFMB reported that two victims died at the scene, while the other two succumbed to their injuries at the hospital. The victims’ families, located in Turkey, watched the court proceedings remotely.
Prosecutors detailed that an onlooker pulled Alavez from his overturned truck after the crash. Instead of rendering aid, witnesses saw him attempting to throw several alcohol containers from his vehicle over a nearby bridge. Deputy District Attorney Spencer Sharpe told the court, “Rather than render aid to any of those dying victims, this defendant decided to throw alcohol containers that were all over his car over the freeway.”
Two hours after the crash, Alavez’s blood alcohol concentration measured 0.16 — twice California’s legal limit.
During sentencing, Judge Marian Gaston acknowledged the visible remorse Alavez displayed in court. “The shame that he feels is obvious,” she said. “It radiates from him that he knows what a bad decision he made and how much he’s hurt other people.”
Still, the judge emphasized the devastating consequences of his actions. Driving at excessive speed while intoxicated, she noted, left no margin for error and destroyed multiple lives in an instant.
The sentence of 12 years in state prison reflected the seriousness of the crimes, though some family members of the victims expressed that no punishment could truly account for their loss.
The case serves as a grim reminder of the dangers of drunk driving. Prosecutors and law enforcement officials urged the public to plan ahead, use designated drivers, and never get behind the wheel while impaired.
For the families of Cetin, Dursun, Hizmali, and Savas, the sentence brings some measure of justice — but their grief remains immeasurable.
