EASTON, Pa. – A man has pleaded guilty, nearly four years after killing a teenage girl and her parents in a crash on Route 33 in Northampton County.
A three day trial ended after attorneys reached a plea deal.
Nelson Segura, 36, entered into the guilty plea deal on charges of homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter and DUI of a controlled substance.
The New Jersey man has been sentenced to 1 to 2 years in prison.
The victims’ family says they feel like they have let the victims’ down and believe the sentencing is too short.
“He actually murdered my family,” said Aytasha Hanton.
Hanton says it’ll soon be four years, since her brother Darrell Robinson, her sister-in-law Alexis Robinson and her teenage niece, 16-year-old Tahlia were killed in the car crash.
“And during those four years, they dismissed the charges, they didn’t apply the charges, and finally, we got the charges to stick,” said Hanton.
She believes the plea deal for Segura, who investigators say slammed into the Robinson’s family’s Toyota Rav 4 one rainy night in March 2022, isn’t enough.
“I feel like I let my brother down,” said Hanton.
But Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta said there is civil litigation with regard to Segura’s operation of a commercial vehicle, and Baratta believes the conviction may be able to benefit the plaintiffs during the civil trial.
“We were ready to close. We felt strong about our case,” said Baratta.
Baratta prosecuted the case, after re-filing the charges.
“It was not an unjust resolution,” said Baratta. “There can be no solace for this family. There was a mother, father and daughter who were killed.”
Baratta says he believes marijuana had an influence in Segura’s inability to safely react, before he slammed his box truck into the family’s stopped car.
“We had no idea as to why they were in the middle of the roadway,” said Baratta, “[Segura] couldn’t operate his vehicle safely. There was no excuse for the accident. There was no excuse for the deaths. He just plowed into it head on. And according to his statement, he never saw the car, which made no sense. We didn’t hear from the defendant at the trial, we put on nine witnesses.”
Police say they found several blunt packages and a marijuana cigar in Segura’s box truck.
A blood test also showed THC in his system, authorities say.
The defense described Segura as feeling awful and says no resolution will help the outcome.
Defense had contended during the trial that Segura barely had detectable levels of THC and argued it could not be determined if he was impaired at the time of the crash.
Segura’s attorney says that the sentencing will also allow his client to get back to his 4-year-old daughter sooner.
“We’re all hurting very well, and this was not the justice that we were looking for,” said Hanton. “Not only did he rip our family apart and rip us to this point that we have, but he’s at the possibility of doing that to others.”
Defense originally asked that Segura have until the beginning of April before reporting to prison, but the judge gave him two weeks.
Segura is ordered to report to the Northampton County prison by March 18th.