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Driver sentenced in River of Lights hit-and-run death
Pronoy Bhattacharya, 7, right, holds hands with his father Aditya Bhattacharya. Also pictured is his younger brother, then 4.
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An Albuquerque man was sentenced to 25 years in prison in a 2021 hit-and-run crash that left a child dead and the boy鈥檚 father seriously injured outside the River of Lights.
District Court Judge Brett Loveless handed down the sentence for 30-year-old Sergio Almanza on Tuesday.
In September, jurors found Almanza was drunk when he ran a red light in an off-road vehicle and struck 7-year-old Pronoy Bhattacharya and his father as the family left the holiday event at Central and Tingley.
While the father survived with serious injuries, the boy 鈥� a second grader at Georgia O鈥橩eeffe Elementary School 鈥� died at the scene.
Afterward, Almanza fled and tried to hide the vehicle at a friend鈥檚 house. He briefly fled to Mexico before being arrested in December 2022.
At trial, Almanza was found guilty of DWI-related vehicular homicide and great bodily harm by vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident, tampering with evidence and driving an off-highway vehicle on a paved street.
Ahmad Assed, Almanza鈥檚 attorney, said Tuesday that he and Almanza disagreed with the sentence.
鈥淲e sought a lower sentence based on legitimate circumstances and factual arguments that we feel justly necessitated a lower sentence,鈥� he said in a statement. 鈥淔rom the inception of this trial, we told the court Mr. Almanza did not contest his actions and wanted to take responsibility early. Our disagreement with the prosecutors then, and continues today, is based on whether Mr. Almanza was guilty of the DWI.鈥�
Assed said he will meet with Almanza to decide whether to appeal the sentence.
鈥淭his was an incredibly difficult case. One the entire community felt,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he loss of this precious child and the manner in which he was killed will be burned in our minds and hearts for a long time.鈥�
On Tuesday, the boy鈥檚 mother told Loveless, 鈥淓very moment of my day is spent thinking about Pronoy. I want Pronoy to know, wherever he may be, that justice was served today.鈥�
Attorney General Ra煤l Torrez said, in a statement Tuesday, that Pronoy 鈥渨as a special little boy who will be missed by all who knew him.鈥�
鈥淥ur thoughts are with his family today and I hope they find some comfort in our steadfast commitment to hold offenders like Sergio Almanza accountable for their actions and to do everything in our power to make this community safe for all our families,鈥� said Torrez, who was Bernalillo County District Attorney when the case began.
In a sentencing memorandum filed Monday, prosecutors listed Almanza鈥檚 鈥渁bysmal driving history鈥� with 10 citations he was given between 2009 and 2021, which included speeding, reckless driving, not having a license and not using headlights, among other violations.
Furthermore, according to the memorandum, Almanza has 鈥渆ngaged in criminal fraud while in custody鈥� at the Metropolitan Detention Center 鈥� selling a fellow inmate鈥檚 food stamps to family members.
鈥淭his behavior is of great importance because it shows a continued disregard for the law,鈥� according to the memorandum, which then summed up its argument for a stiff sentence.
Prosecutors said Almanza did not try to help the boy or his father and 鈥渃owardly鈥� hid and disguised the vehicle while monitoring the situation on the news before fleeing the country 鈥渁fter it was clear he was going to be implicated.鈥�
鈥淒efendant鈥檚 request for leniency should not be granted,鈥� according to the memorandum. 鈥淭he Bhattacharya family has received a life sentence without Pronoy.鈥�
