Judge Lisa Michalk of the 221st District Court in Montgomery County sentenced a Conroe High School student, Lazaro Millan, to 10 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice yesterday morning for a fatal racing crash that occurred on May 24, 2009 and resulted in the death of Jordan Wilson, a Conroe High School football star. Judge Michalk further ordered that Millan enter the prison “Boot Camp” program and that if he successfully completes the program, she will probate his sentence. Millan will be in the program for approximately three months before returning to Judge Michalk’s court. Millan was taken into custody after the hearing. Millan had previously entered a plea of guilty to the felony racing offense which carries a penalty of two to twenty years in prison. Prosecutor, Warren Diepraam, did not seek a deadly weapon finding on the case because Millan was not the at fault racer.
The facts at the hearing revealed that Millan and the other driver, Johnny O’Neal, began a race on Airline in the northwestern portion of the City of Conroe. During the race, O’Neal outgained and outdistanced Millan who conceded the race. At that time, O’Neal lost control of his car which hit a culvert and went airborne striking a neighborhood fence and ultimately crashing into a tree killing his passenger, Jordan Wilson. Millan fled the scene without checking on O’Neal’s car. Crash evidence revealed that O’Neal was travelling well in excess of the speed limit when he crashed. Pictures showed his speedometer stuck at over one-hundred miles an hour. O’Neal was arrested shortly after the crash, but Millan was arrested later after the Conroe Police Department CORT officers discovered his involvement and obtained a statement from him.
Evidence at the hearing revealed that Millan has had some misdemeanor arrests in his past including theft and possession of a prescription medication without authority. Millan testified that the case has haunted him and that his decision to get involved in the race has ruined his life as well as the victim’s. Davetta Wilson, Jordan’s mother, tearfully testified that her family moved here from Louisiana to escape Hurricane Katrina and that Jordan soon became a football star at Conroe High School excelling in both offense and defense. She testified that Christmas was her son’s favorite holiday and how he was such a giving person. She described how proud the family was to learn that Jordan had received a scholarship for football at the Air Force Academy. Lastly, she described for Judge Michalk how his loss has destroyed her family to the extent that Jordan’s father could not attend the hearing.
Prosecutor Warren Diepraam asked the court to let the young people of this county know that reckless driving has consequences after eliciting testimony from Millan that most young people do not think that racing is dangerous. After the hearing, Diepraam stated that he was pleased with the verdict and the message sent to the people in our county who have no apparent concern for the safety of others. If Millan successfully completes the prison program, he will have to serve additional jail time, perform eight-hundred hours of community service including speaking to high school students about the dangers of racing, carry a picture of Wilson with him at all times, and many other conditions.
