WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Eswin Mejia, the Honduran immigrant who killed 21-year-old Sarah Root in a drunk-driving accident a decade ago, has been sentenced to at least 20 years in prison.
Mejia was arrested in January 2016 for vehicular homicide after the crash that killed Sarah in Douglas County, Nebraska, while he was street racing and drunk. His blood alcohol content was three times over the legal limit. He was arrested and released on a bond in February 2016, and he subsequently fled the country to evade prosecution.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, Sarah's Law was introduced in the United States Congress. It was eventually added as an amendment to the Laken Riley Act, the first piece of legislation that President Donald Trump signed into law in his second term. The law would require 'U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to take into custody certain undocumented immigrants who have been charged in the United States with a crime that resulted in the death or serious bodily injury of another person'.
Mejia was successfully extradited from Honduras by Homeland Security Investigations in March last year. It was the first time that Honduras had ever extradited someone to the U.S. for homicide.
After being convicted on charges of motor vehicle homicide and flight to avoid arrest, a Nebraska court sentenced 29 year-old Mejia to 20 to 22 years in prison on Monday.
'The extradition, arrest, conviction, and sentencing of this criminal illegal alien is the culmination of a decade-long battle for justice for Sarah Root and her family,' said the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
