A man from New Mexico who admitted to smoking meth and marijuana before crashing through a home and killing a grandfather sitting in a recliner watching TV will serve ten years in prison.
Mark Castello, 63, learned his fate on Wednesday, following the death of Brian Peterson, 74. Castello pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide.
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“We’ll be carrying this pain for the rest of our lives.” Our family will never be the same. “There is no true healing from an event like this,” Peterson’s daughter, Tiffany Saiz, said during the court hearing, according to local CBS and Fox affiliate KRQE.
Castello stated on the stand, “I am aware of the tragic situation that I have placed the Peterson family in and what they are about to go through. This was not my intention at all.”
Authorities said the incident occurred on December 28, 2023.
Castello drove a white Ford Expedition through a stop sign and crashed into the garage door of an Albuquerque home, according to officials.
The Expedition collided with a parked car in the garage, pushing it into the home. The second vehicle hit Peterson.
“My dad was trapped in his recliner,” Saiz explained. “The wheel from my parents’ car was in the center of his chest. He was trapped for more than 30 minutes while we stood outside, completely helpless.”
Albuquerque police and rescue personnel arrived around 12:40 p.m. Peterson died in the hospital.
Castello was also hospitalized for minor injuries before being charged with DWI resulting in death, driving with a revoked license, open container, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of controlled substance.
According to local NBC affiliate KOB, he admitted to smoking meth and marijuana before getting behind the wheel. Authorities said they discovered several open alcohol containers in his vehicle.
Castello has previous convictions for DWI, domestic violence, embezzlement, and forgery, according to the outlet.
Jean, Peterson’s wife, told local ABC affiliate KOAT that she was in another room when the crash occurred, while her husband sat in his favorite chair.
“I heard a horrendous crash, almost like I would have expected a bomb to sound,” she told me. “And I wondered, ‘What in the world?'” Then I looked to the left and saw my car parked in the living room. I just noticed the car sitting where I knew his chair was. “I didn’t notice him because I couldn’t see over.”
“I went and spoke to him, and he responded,” she continued. “I heard his voice, but I couldn’t see him.”
She claimed she spent the night reliving what had happened.
“All I could think about was Brian pinned under that car,” she told me.
Brian Peterson’s GoFundMe page stated that he has ten grandchildren.
His spouse, according to the page, “is the glue that holds the family together, but Brian was Jean’s rock and a source of support to the family.”