Massachusetts Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Deadly Van Crash

A Springfield, Massachusetts, man has been sentenced to at least 12 years in prison after pleading guilty in a van crash that killed his 3-year-old daughter and the driver of another vehicle.

Thirty-three-year-old Mauricio Velasquez pleaded guilty Monday in Hampshire Superior Court to two counts of motor vehicle manslaughter and one count of serious bodily injury by motor vehicle while intoxicated. Judge Mary-Lou Rup sentenced him to 12 to 14 years.

Police said Velasquez lost control of his van in Easthampton last Dec. 7, hitting a guardrail and striking a pick-up truck head-on.

The pick-up driver, 71-year-old Charles Hoffman of Easthampton, was killed and his wife, Janice Hoffman, was injured.

Three-year-old Diana Velasquez-Diaz also was killed.

Prosecutors said Velasquez admitted he had been drinking and hit the accelerator instead of the brake when he lost control of his van.