A California family is reeling after learning that the woman convicted of killing their 21-year-old son in a distracted-driving crash will be released from prison years earlier than expected, and this is despite it being her fourth at-fault crash while using her phone.
In 2020, Benjamin Montalvo was riding his bicycle with friends in Corona, California, when Neomi Velado, then 28, struck him with her car. Prosecutors said Velado had been texting her boyfriend at the time of the crash. Montalvo was left in the street.
Velado fled the scene and turned herself in the following day.
In 2023, she was convicted of felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and felony hit-and-run causing death. A judge sentenced her to nine years behind bars, condemning her “callousness” in leaving a young man to die in the roadway.
For Benjamin’s family, it felt like justice — at least as much as justice can exist after such a loss.
Now, less than three years later, that sense of closure has been shattered.
A Valentine’s Day Release
Velado is set to be released on February 14 after serving roughly two and a half years of her nine-year sentence.
The early release is the result of California’s credit system, which allows certain incarcerated individuals to earn reductions in their sentences for good conduct and participation in rehabilitative or educational programs.
According to state officials, many non-violent offenders can earn credits equaling up to 50 percent of their term. Velado also received credit for time previously served.
To the Montalvo family, the explanation offers little comfort.
“Why do they give a sentence if it’s not going to be enforced?” Benjamin’s mother, Kellie Montalvo, told local media, calling the decision “a huge slap in the face.”
The outrage is compounded by Velado’s history. Benjamin’s death was reportedly her fourth at-fault crash involving distracted driving and her fifth at-fault crash overall.
Attorneys also claimed she had been drinking and smoking marijuana prior to the fatal collision, though by the time she turned herself in, evidence to substantiate that allegation was no longer available.
“Am I Afraid She’ll Re-Offend? Absolutely”
Kellie Montalvo feels the consequences for Velado’s are insufficient to deter her from repeating the same mistakes.
“Am I afraid she’s going to re-offend? Absolutely,” she said. “It isn’t enough time to have made a difference in someone that has four hit-and-runs and shows no consciousness of guilt.”
The family says they were satisfied with the original nine-year sentence. But that’s until they received a letter informing them of Velado’s impending Valentine’s Day release. They have since appealed to the governor’s office, hoping there has been an error in the calculation of her credits.
Fighting for Change
Beyond their personal grief, the Montalvos have turned their pain into advocacy.
They have championed proposed changes to California law that would classify vehicular manslaughter, including cases involving intoxication, as violent felonies, which could limit the offender’s ability to significantly reduce their prison terms through credits.
Under current California law, individuals serving determinate sentences — fixed terms imposed by a judge — are released automatically once their adjusted term is completed, without a parole hearing.
That framework, designed to incentivize rehabilitation and good behavior, is now under renewed scrutiny as this case draws public attention.
Justice, Briefly
At its core, the story highlights a tension in the justice system: balancing rehabilitation with accountability, especially in cases involving repeated dangerous behavior on the road.
For the Montalvo family, the legal nuances are beside the point. Benjamin’s life, they say, was filled with milestones that were never reached.
“Where are Benjamin’s credits?” his mother asked. “Where are his milestones? She took every milestone that he could have ever achieved when she killed him.”
As Velado prepares to walk free, the family’s heartbreak has once again become headline news — and a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over distracted driving, sentencing reform, and whether justice, in this case, truly ran its full course.
