JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Justice is served. That’s the message from the family of one of the men who died after being hit by a drunk driver while driving motorcycles last October.
In a Jacksonville courtroom on Friday, Diego Hernandez Martinez, 45, was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He also currently has an ICE hold and will be deported after his sentence.
“We can’t bring Gabe back, but we definitely got justice today,” said Belinda DiSpirito, mother of victim Gabe DiSpirito. “We weren’t expecting up to 25 years, but hearing that result made everybody feel a little comfort.”
“I was definitely relieved,” said Alex Taylor, Joe’s adoptive brother. “I felt justice, but I did also feel a little guilty, even though he is the one who killed my best friend and his friend.”
The families of both men gathered at the crash site after the verdict, laying flowers at a roadside marker and reflecting on the lives lost.
The courtroom was tense as the judge read the verdict. Hernandez Martinez, who was convicted of DUI manslaughter, received the harshest penalty allowed by law: 25 years in prison, followed by two and a half years of probation, mandatory Level 2 DUI school, and a permanent driver’s license suspension.
He also faces deportation after serving his sentence.
The families applauded as the day in court wrapped up, but acknowledged that no amount of prison time could truly make up for their loss.
“He was becoming more social and more vibrant and more charismatic. It was very emotional to see him go,” Taylor recalled of Joe.
Belinda DiSpirito remembered her son Gabe as someone who loved “football, fishing, and motorcycles,” and was especially talented at repairing bikes. “He was very gifted. Gabe was gifted,” she said.
Both families hope their tragedy will serve as a warning to others about the dangers of drunk driving.
“You have Uber, you have, so many things that you can do to prevent driving drunk,” Belinda said. “Or stay home and drink and not go anywhere, [it’s] that simple.”
When asked about Hernandez Martinez’s apology in court, Belinda responded with compassion, saying, “I believe him, and I do forgive him. I forgive him.”
Gabe DiSpirito and Joe Royce, both 25, were traveling westbound on Beach Boulevard near Washburn Road on their motorcycles when Hernandez Martinez, 45, turned his Nissan Frontier into their path while trying to enter a parking lot.
The Florida Highway Patrol said both DiSpirito and Royce were wearing helmets when they crashed into the side of the pickup truck, but they died from their injuries.
According to troopers, Hernandez Martinez was intoxicated behind the wheel. A trooper told the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office that Hernandez Martinez had bloodshot, watery eyes, his face was flushed, and the trooper could smell alcohol in the hospital room where Hernandez Martinez was taken after the crash.
Later toxicology reports showed Hernandez Martinez had a blood alcohol level of 0.220.