Driver who killed 2 BYU students seeks parole

Ceasar Castellon-Flores pleaded guilty on Nov. 14 to causing the death of two BYU students after driving recklessly and hitting their vehicle at an intersection.

Ceasar Castellon-Flores pleaded guilty on Nov. 14 to causing the death of two BYU students after driving recklessly and hitting their vehicle at an intersection. (Derek Petersen, KSL-TV)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Ashley Low says she suffers from depression, insomnia and post-traumatic stress disorder that began the night two of her friends died.

"Survivors's guilt has been a hell of a drug, and I can't seem to get clean," she told the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole on Tuesday.

Low was driving on the night of Oct. 15, 2021, with her friends, Hailee York and Ashlyn Hanzon, on State Street near 400 South in Orem, when they were smashed into by 21-year-old Ceasar Castellon-Flores. Castellon-Flores was running late to meet up with friends and traveling 67 mph in a 40-mph zone. He then accelerated to 77 mph to get through a yellow light and collided with Low's vehicle.

York, of Lehi, and Hanzon, of Pearland, Texas, both 21, both seniors at BYU and roommates, were killed. Castellon-Flores was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

Castellon-Flores pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter and one count of aggravated assault, third-degree felonies, and in 2023 was sentenced to three consecutive terms of zero to five years in prison.

On Tuesday, he went before the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole for the first time.

Jeff Hanzon, Ashlyn Hanzon's father, speaking to the board via video from Texas, said he was confused by Utah's sentencing rules and didn't expect Castellon-Flores to be up for parole so soon.

"I'm not going to lie to you and pretend everything is OK. We continue to struggle, mostly because there are so many layers of loss we continue to experience," he said. "I hope with time that the loss will seem less painful. But I know that the memory of my daughter will never go away. I know that time changes things, and the experiences and changes in our family will help us to heal. But I know that most of you probably don't know what it's like not watching your children do all the things you'd hope they'd be able to do. And this really hurts.

"This does not really satisfy justice, but there is no earthly way to do that," he continued, saying he expected Castellon-Flores to serve the full time he was sentenced. "We were expecting one thing, and now we're doing something totally different."

In a calm voice, Hanzon then directed his comments toward Castellon-Flores.

"I do not hate you. But I can't honestly tell you that I have completely forgiven you, yet, because your actions have created a giant hole in my heart. But I know with time that I will forgive you completely, and so will my family. I hope nothing but the best for you and your family. And I hope that you can make something of your life someday."

Aaron York, Hailee York's father, also addressed the board, saying he is OK with whatever decision it makes.

"I don't believe what happened was the result of you wanting to cause any harm. I do want you, Ceasar, to have the chance to become a better person. I believe you still have the chance to be a great person and a support to your mother," he said. "I do forgive you for causing the accident and deaths of our daughters."

Low, however, told the board she has struggled ever since the crash. She began her comments by recounting an action movie she saw two years after the incident that included a car-crash scene. She said she had to go to the restroom to try and collect herself because of the nightmares the movie triggered.

"I can do nothing but see the bodies of my friends," she described. "I can smell the smoke, the burnt rubber, the blood."

She says it was one of "countless PTSD episodes I've had over the years." She becomes angry, overwhelmed and irritable when these events happen because "I am very tired of the ugly sympathy that comes with it" from people who want to help, before telling herself the "exhaustingly rehearsed line, 'It's fine, you are not responsible for this,'" and waiting until she's alone to "fall apart."

"I have been irreversibly changed," she told the board. "I loved Hailee and Ashlyn so much. I still love them. And I'm paying in more ways than I could ever imagine."

Castellon-Flores, now 24, who spoke through an interpreter for most of the hearing, apologized several times during the hearing, asked for forgiveness and said it was never his intention to hurt anyone that day.

"I wish I was the person who died that day," he said in Spanish. "I hope, one day, they can forgive me."

At one point, Castellon-Flores read in English a letter that he had prepared.

"I think about this every day. And I've been praying for the victims every day and (for) my family, to take away the pain," he said. "I hope you can forgive me."

Castellon-Flores had lived in Utah for about four years before the crash but did not have a Utah driver's license. He said he was working a construction job to earn money for his family in Mexico and hopes to return to his family when he is released.

"I only came to this country to fight for my family and help my family," he said in Spanish. "What happened that day in the accident is something that I never wanted to do."

Castellon-Flores admits he was speeding and driving recklessly that day but contends he was not on his phone.

The full five-member board will now vote on whether to grant parole or set a date for another hearing sometime in the future.

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Pat Reavy interned with KSL NewsRadio in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL NewsRadio, Deseret News or KSL.com since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops and courts beat.
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