Jury finds Robert Corchado guilty in deadly daycare car crash
Posted: Dec 08, 2014 5:56 PM ESTUpdated: Dec 08, 2014 9:10 PM EST
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ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35 ORLANDO) -The man on trial for leaving the scene of a deadly Orlando-area daycare crash earlier this year has been found guilty.
A jury also found Robert Corchado, 30, guilty on multiple felony drug counts, including heroin trafficking and cocaine possession.
Closing arguments wrapped up Monday evening in the week-long trial. Prosecutors said Corchado rear-ended another car, sending it careening into the Winter Park Kindercare where Lilly Quintus, 4, and her classmates were sitting. Lilly was killed, several other children were injured.
With tears running down his face, Corchado accepted his fate: guilty on all seven counts against him, including the two more serious counts of leaving the scene of an accident that caused a death or injury.
The grandfather of Lily Quintus said the verdict is somewhat of a comfort.
"This is the only thing that gives my family any sense of satisfaction," said Tom Greenman.
Others said the fight isn't over yet.
"I hope he gets life in prison," says Angel Ayala.
Corchado's defense team said Corchado had no idea that crash caused such carnage, and that he only sped off because he didn't want to get another traffic ticket.
Corchado took the stand in his own defense on Monday morning.
“I was kind of freaked out and I panicked,” he told the court about the accident.
His defense team put Corchado up there for two reasons: to tell the jury he had no way of knowing about the chain reaction he caused when he rear-ended that Toyota Solara, and to establish that Corchado never had drugs in his possession in Orange County, where he's being charged, the day of the crash.
Instead, Corchado said, he left the drug-filled backpack at his friend and drug trafficking partner's house while he went to get a rental car.
Prosecutors contend, based on the evidence, Corchado must have seen the Toyota veer off into the daycare, and he panicked because of the large amounts of heroin, cocaine and marijuana in his car. That's why he tried to hide the evidence, the state said.
Corchado will remain in custody at the Orange County Jail until his sentencing, which has been scheduled for Friday, January 16, 2015.
A jury also found Robert Corchado, 30, guilty on multiple felony drug counts, including heroin trafficking and cocaine possession.
Closing arguments wrapped up Monday evening in the week-long trial. Prosecutors said Corchado rear-ended another car, sending it careening into the Winter Park Kindercare where Lilly Quintus, 4, and her classmates were sitting. Lilly was killed, several other children were injured.
With tears running down his face, Corchado accepted his fate: guilty on all seven counts against him, including the two more serious counts of leaving the scene of an accident that caused a death or injury.
The grandfather of Lily Quintus said the verdict is somewhat of a comfort.
"This is the only thing that gives my family any sense of satisfaction," said Tom Greenman.
Others said the fight isn't over yet.
"I hope he gets life in prison," says Angel Ayala.
Corchado's defense team said Corchado had no idea that crash caused such carnage, and that he only sped off because he didn't want to get another traffic ticket.
Corchado took the stand in his own defense on Monday morning.
“I was kind of freaked out and I panicked,” he told the court about the accident.
His defense team put Corchado up there for two reasons: to tell the jury he had no way of knowing about the chain reaction he caused when he rear-ended that Toyota Solara, and to establish that Corchado never had drugs in his possession in Orange County, where he's being charged, the day of the crash.
Instead, Corchado said, he left the drug-filled backpack at his friend and drug trafficking partner's house while he went to get a rental car.
Prosecutors contend, based on the evidence, Corchado must have seen the Toyota veer off into the daycare, and he panicked because of the large amounts of heroin, cocaine and marijuana in his car. That's why he tried to hide the evidence, the state said.
Corchado will remain in custody at the Orange County Jail until his sentencing, which has been scheduled for Friday, January 16, 2015.
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