Man sentenced to 5 years for running over, killing woman

A man who pleaded guilty to running over a young woman and trying to cover it uplearned his punishment.

Lorenzo Pacheco will serve five years in a state prison for killing Stephanie Nicole Avelar, 20, in Fabens in 2012.

Investigators and prosecutors said Pacheco tried to cover up the crime by repairing the damage left to the truck after the deadly collision.

Stephanie’s family was in the courtroom during Tuesday’s hearing.

“To begin with, she was my baby girl,” said Stephanie’s father, Robert Avelar. “She was trying to get her life together, going to school. … She was the little jokester of the family,” Avelar added, holding back his tears.

With his family behind him, Avelar told ABC-7 their lives have not been the same.

“We don’t do anything like we used to. No more Christmases together, no more New Year’s Eve parties and no more get-togethers,” Avelar said.

Pacheco pleaded guilty to accident causing personal death. Family members told ABC-7, they didn’t want to push for a higher charge and go to trial. Pacheco had no prior criminal history and there was a chance he could have avoided prison time, Avelar told ABC-7.

“He could have gotten off on probation. That’s what we didn’t want,” Avelar said.

Stephanie’s family told ABC-7 they are still not happy with the 5-year sentence.

“She was everything to us,” said Jeremy Avelar, Stephanie’s brother.

“At least he’s going to do some time. That’s all we can hope for. Hopefully he’ll have fun there,” her father said.

Jeremy told ABC-7 that he still clings to his sister’s memory.

“I spend days alone looking up at the sky, because I know she’s up there,” Jeremy said. “I tell her I love her, but I’ll never get the chance to hear it come back to me.”

The Avelar family told ABC-7, Pacheco had no response to the five-year sentence, which leads them to believe he has no remorse.