WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A man who crashed into an ambulance and killed two paramedics was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in prison.
Genaro De La Cruz Ajqui pleaded guilty to two counts of DUI manslaughter for the 2017 crash that killed Paul Besaw and Lahiri Garcia. Circuit Judge Jeffery Gillen granted Ajqui credit for the two years he's already spent in jail.
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Investigators said Ajqui, 41, was driving a Chrysler Sebring convertible at 3 a.m. on June 1, 2017, when he attempted to make a U-turn in front of an ambulance in Jupiter. The ambulance crashed into the car. Both paramedics died at the scene.
Besaw's widow, Dawn Witherspoon Besaw, told the Palm Beach Post she doesn't think 14 years is enough prison time for taking the lives of two people whose job it was to save lives.
“I'm glad he's going to be serving time, but nothing will bring my husband back," she said.
While making an impact statement during the hearing, Besaw told the judge she doesn't understand why drunken driving isn't looked upon as harshly as other causes of death.
“The man that killed my husband made a choice to get behind the wheel of a car and drive drunk," she said.