SANTAN VALLEY, Arizona — A 21-year-old man was sentenced to 14 years in prison after he was found guilty of causing the deaths of three teenagers in a 2019 car crash while trying to escape from the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office.

Juan Sánchez was just 17 when he was arrested in February 2019 after a fatal accident in Santan Valley.

The 21-year-old defendant recently pleaded guilty to three counts of manslaughter and was sentenced last month to more than 10 years in prison by the Arizona Department of Corrections.

Pinal County Attorney’s Office Police said they tried to stop traffic in Sanchez’s car, but the driver continued to drive erratically at over 160 mph. Sanchez eventually lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a concrete structure.

Three teenage passengers in Sanchez’s car died. The victims were identified as Amonte DeShawn Jones, 18, of Mesa, Chase James Bluman, 18, of Santan Valley, and a 16-year-old boy.

At the time of the accident, authorities reported finding several firearms in the suspect’s vehicle.

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