Man convicted of fatal hit-and-run crash up for parole

Man convicted of fatal hit-and-run crash up for parole

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UTAH STATE PRISON — Donetta Patterson said she feels today the same way she did on the day Ronald Torres was sentenced to prison.

"I feel like Mr. Torres has not yet completely accepted responsibility for the accident," she told Board of Pardons and Parole Chairman Clark Harms last week.

In October 2009, Torres rear-ended Milton Patterson's van while it was stopped at a red light on the Bangerter Highway near 4700 South. Milton Patterson got out of his car to inspect the damage. Torres backed up, then drove forward, striking the 6-foot-1, 350-pound man.

But Torres, 30, said the damage to his vehicle was minimal and he didn't know he had hit anybody. He went home and reported his car was stolen before attempting to hide it in the back of his apartment complex parking lot.

In 2011, Torres was sentenced to the maximum penalty for failure to remain at an accident involving death, a third-degree felony. A judge ordered him to serve zero to five years in prison, and a concurrent sentence of one year for negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor.


I believe the best indicator of future behavior is past behavior, and I don't see that that behavior has changed. There's a huge hole in our lives that can't be replaced.

–Donetta Patterson, victim's wife


If Torres serves his full time, he will be released from the Utah State Prison in April 2016. Last week, a parole hearing was held to determine if he should be released early.

Donetta Patterson, who said she believes the original sentence was too lenient, pleaded with the board to make Torres serve his full penalty.

"I believe the best indicator of future behavior is past behavior, and I don't see that that behavior has changed," she said. "There's a huge hole in our lives that can't be replaced."

Harms also noted to Torres that "there are so many bad decisions that you made."

He said that if Torres had simply gotten out of his car after rear-ending Milton Patterson, it would have been a misdemeanor charge at most.

"What on earth made you decide that committing a felony by leaving the scene of an accident was a better idea than just staying there with minimal damage? … I mean, people do dumb things all the time. That's why they're called accidents," Harms said.

Torres explained that he had just left a heated argument with his ex-wife and didn't want to get in trouble with police.

"I wasn't thinking correctly," he told Harms.


I can't erase the past. I can only accept it and go forward. I know people will have their judgments against me. But hopefully my actions will speak louder than my words.

–Ronald Torres


Torres, who didn't have a valid driver's license at the time of the accident, said he was looking for his cellphone that dropped on the car floor when he rear-ended Patterson.

Torres stated he had "no good excuses, no good reasons" for what happened. He said when he first arrived at prison, he was suffering from depression and other mental health issues. Since then, the programs he has taken while incarcerated have helped him, Torres said.

"I can't erase the past. I can only accept it and go forward. I know people will have their judgments against me. But hopefully my actions will speak louder than my words," he said.

Torres' initial dishonesty and trying to cover up or deny what had happened was one of the reasons the judge gave him the maximum sentence. But Torres said he now admits to everything he did that night, though he maintains reports that he had been drinking prior to the accident were inaccurate.

"I'm a big enough man to accept responsibility and take things that I'm responsible for," he said, noting that his plan of reporting that his car had been stolen "wasn't the smartest thing."

When Harms asked Torres to describe what he thought the Patterson family was going through, Torres said he didn't want to disrespect them by doing that.

"For what it's worth, to the family, I really do apologize. I'm not trying to make light of any of this. I do take it very seriously," he said.

The five-member board will now vote on whether Torres should be released early. A decision is expected in about a week.

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Pat Reavy

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