An Allentown man could spend decades in prison for causing a DUI crash that killed a couple two years ago in the city.
Imanol Caraballo, 24, was sentenced to 9 to 30 years in prison for a DUI crash that killed Christopher Stocker, 44, and Luz Ruiz-Acosta, 43, on Dec. 10, 2023, on Hamilton Street, according to Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan.
Caraballo pleaded guilty in January to charges of homicide by vehicle while DUI, accidents involving death and DUI.
City police said Ruiz-Acosta and Stocker were hit by a vehicle about 1:15 a.m. in the 300 block of Hamilton Street. Both were taken to a nearby hospital, where they died from their injuries. A sedan was spotted leaving the area of the crash.
That sedan was found in the 100 block of Walnut Street with damage to the windshield and hood. Caraballo was outside the car on the phone with the owner of the vehicle. He told them the vehicle was involved in a crash, according to court documents.
When speaking to investigators, Caraballo said, “I didn’t see them. I literally looked down and looked right back up, I don’t know what I hit,” charging documents state. He claimed he panicked and did not stop know what to do. Authorities said he did not try to help Stocker or Ruiz-Acosta.
Caraballo consented to a blood test, which showed the presence of marijuana in his system before the crash. Surveillance footage showed the vehicle hitting the couple, police said.
Stocker and Ruiz-Acosta were engaged, according to Stocker’s obituary.