Leddy Harris shared her own words after facing the man convicted of killing her family members while driving drunk.
FORT WORTH, Texas — A man charged in a deadly drunk driving crash that killed three people has been sentenced to 18 years in prison as part of a plea agreement.
On Monday, Adan Hermosillo Garcia, 31, who agreed to a plea deal in August, faced his victims’ family members as they delivered impact statements in the case.
Alexius Mills, her boyfriend Justin Dike and Mills’ unborn child died in the crash.
Mill’s sister, Leddy Harris, wanted to make sure Garcia understood the pain her family is experiencing because of his decision to drink and drive.
On Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021, Leddy Harris’ sister, Alexius, answered a call from her boyfriend, 28-year-old Justin Dike, who has a flat tire on the Texas 360 access road. When she went to help him, Garcia crashed into the couple, police said.
Garcia was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, according to police records obtained by WFAA. The impact of the crash on the access road killed the couple.
Arlington police said Alexius’ baby boy, Wyatt Dexter, was delivered at the hospital, but he did not survive.
Harris and her family, along with family members of Justin, put up a roadside memorial to ho nor them.
Garcia obtained a plea agreement in the case and agreed to serve 18 years behind bars for the deadly crash. During sentencing, Leddy Harris read an impact statement in court.
Leddy Harris shared with WFAA in her own words what happened in court on the day the judge formally sentenced him in the case.
IN HER OWN WORDS:
Yesterday was one of the hardest days of my life. I had to face the killer of my sister and my nephew. I will say when he first walked into the courtroom, all I could feel was anger. I stared him down, we looked into each other’s eyes and he put his hand over his heart, put his head down, and began to pray.
Right at that moment, my anger left, then I felt pain, hurt, crushed heart. He pleads guilty with no hesitation to all charges. You could hear his voice shaking. I then spoke my peace to him. When I asked him to look at me he did, I told him I forgive you, and I forgive you for your mistakes and I will pray for you.
Right at that moment, I felt a peace I haven’t had in a year. I felt I could finally let my sister rest. That man is dying inside. He is so hurt and I could feel his pain. He made a mistake that he can never take back.
I can only hope this message will hit someone else and realize the moment you drink and drive just know you are taking a chance just like he did, to take the life of someone else.
That guilt, that pain, and hurt will never leave you. It will eat you alive. So don’t do it. Please think twice before you ever drink and drive. I know I sure will.
IMPACT STATEMENT:
The day you took the life of my sister and nephew was the day a piece of us died too. We have learned this is a piece that you cannot fill. It is a piece that cannot be replaced by anything, ever.
That day we stopped breathing for a moment too. We wondered how the world around us continues to go on.
We had to start a new life. A life where We were Daughterless, motherless, sisterless. It is now different than before, in the most painful and heartbreaking way you could ever imagine.
We looked around and questioned everything. I questioned my faith, our last words to each other, and every moment I spent away from her. My questions will never be answered, but I keep asking anyway.
We refused to accept this reality but it stays with us. The debilitating reality sunk in this year and That day was just as bad as the day she died.
We have been frozen with heartbreak, confusion, and terror. We have developed new anxieties and fears we never had before. Some days these fears are debilitating.
The day she died her kids were left without a mother. They are different kinds of kids than before, trust me. They long for her hug, her kiss, her time, and her presence. This longing never goes away.
It stays with them, but so does she, because she promised she would always be with them.
The day she died we gained the most beautiful angel. We can’t see her, but she is there, just as she promised she always will be.
We loved so hard, so deeply, so purely, that we will now grieve harder because of that beautiful love.
Alexius loved us all beyond measure. She mothered more beautifully than most. She believed in people more than they ever believed in themselves. You out of a selfish act took one of our most precious cargo on this planet.
Without hesitation, she was one of the most amazing mothers, sisters, and daughters we ever knew and will ever know. The feeling I felt when I carried my baby nephew to her casket is a feeling I will never forget, a mental picture that will never leave my head. He was perfect in every way.
We pray every day to have them back. Unfortunately, no prayers can bring her back. No wishes can make her appear.
We try so hard to remember her smile, remember her love, and remember her life. We will never forget her and everything that she was because the day she died her kids became her legacy.
Today I forgive you, I forgive you for your mistake, for your selfish acts, I don’t forgive you for your sake, I forgive you for mine. You will answer to God for your sins.