BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) – A Leland woman has been sentenced after pleading guilty in a hit-and-run case involving the death of a 20-year-old bicyclist, according to the Brunswick County District Attorney’s Office.
Per the announcement, Maria Concepcion Cardona Alejo was sentenced to 120 days in jail and 36 months of supervised probation.
In November, 20-year-old Michael Archuleta was found dead alongside Blue Banks Loop Road. Authorities determined that the driver of the vehicle that hit Archuleta left the scene.
Alejo was arrested three days later.
Michael’s sister, Angel, said she remembers the day of his death like it was yesterday.
“I remember when my mom called me, when he was first discovered, and she had already gone to work, and my dad was out walking our dog, and the neighbor told him that his son was in the ditch,” Angel said.
The accident happened right in front of the Archuleta’s family home.
“Nobody should ever have to deal with what we’ve dealt with this past year,” she said.
Angel recounts the moment she heard Alejo would receive 120 days, just under five months, behind bars.
“All I could do was just sit there with my jaw open, then the fact that we did witness statements and impact statements of how it impacted our family and the people around us,” she described. “We will never be truly healed and have justice which is wrong, and then go ahead and sentence her with 120 days with probation. Anything was better than that. That was the ultimate slap in the face.”
Angel said they don’t want other families to have to go through what they have.
“Hit and runs are a very serious crime, but they’re not taken seriously in the court. That needs to change, and we’re hoping that our family can be the start in making that change,” Angel said.
Angel said her family is working to get hit-and-run accidents reclassified under North Carolina law.
Right now, they’re Class H felonies if the accident leads to serious injury or death, which are the lowest level of felony charges.
Angel’s only hope now is that Michael Archuleta’s legacy will have an impact across the state.
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