Driver pleads guilty in drunken Father's Day crash that killed man, daughter

Jorge DeLeon and his 4-year-old daughter Jasmine died in the June 2013 Father's Day crash on Route 29 in Hamilton.

TRENTON -- A Camden man pleaded guilty to two counts of death by auto Wednesday for killing a Trenton man and his 4-year-old daughter while he was drunk and driving on the wrong side of Route 29 two years ago.

Jorge DeLeon of Elm Street in Trenton with his daughter, Jasmine, 4.FAMILY PHOTO 

Manuel Gutierrez Vazquez also pleaded guilty in Mercer County Superior Court to assault by auto for the injuries he caused to Jorge DeLeon's then 6-year-old son Luis.

DeLeon, 28, was pronounced dead at the scene and his 4-year-old daughter Jasmine died at a Philadelphia hospital following the June 2013 crash on Father's Day.

A plea agreement with the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office calls for Gutierrez Vazquez to serve two consecutive, five-year terms for the death by auto convictions and a concurrent four-year term for assault by auto.

The death by auto convictions fall under the No Early Release Act, so Gutierrez Vazquez will serve 85 percent of each sentence behind bars, the prosecutor's office said.

After his prison time is complete, Gutierrez Vazquez, a native of Mexico who is living in the county illegally, will be deported, the prosecutor's office said.

Assistant Mercer County Prosecutor Lewis Korngut said whenever some dies due to drunk driving, it's tragic. "But when children die, that is catastrophic," he said.

"Our heart goes out the family, and we hope the mother and son Luis can move forward," said Korngut, chief of the office's homicide unit.

In June 2013, Gutierrez Vazquez was 27 years old and had been in the country for about four years. He worked as a welder, traveled around for jobs and was living in Camden. He had never had a drivers license and had been arrested in Texas for drunken driving just weeks before.

Before the crash, he admitted to authorities that he had four or five mixed drinks at an outdoor party in Trenton before attempting to drive home to Camden.

During yesterday's plea hearing, Gutierrez Vazquez was unable to answer some questions seeking details of the crash, saying he was "too drunk," Korngut said. His blood alcohol content was .15 percent.

DeLeon was a father of three in June 2013 and was married to Judy DeLeon, who described her husband of just over a year as a "loving, caring man."

In addition to his son and daughter, DeLeon and Judy DeLeon had a 2-month-old newborn.

The family had been at a baby shower in Bordentown during the day, a Saturday, and Jorge DeLeon decided to take the children back home to Trenton while his wife stayed behind to sleep at a friend's house, Judy DeLeon previously said.

At 3:30 a.m., Gutierrez Vazquez was driving south in the northbound lanes of the highway near the Trenton line when he slammed into DeLeon's vehicle.

A Hamilton fire chief described the scene as "horrific and sad."

Gutierrez Vazquez will officially be sentenced in January.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.