Taxi driver sentenced to year in jail in hit-and-run death of pedestrian in Newport
A taxi driver was sentenced Thursday to a year in Orange County Jail in the hit-and-run death of a 23-year-old pedestrian in Newport Beach on New Year’s Day 2015.
In October, a jury found Ronald Aviles, 58, guilty of one felony count of hit-and-run with death during his second trial. Earlier this year, a jury deadlocked in the case.
Aviles, of San Clemente, also was sentenced to three years of formal probation, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.
Aviles was driving his taxi van south on East Coast Highway at 3 a.m. when he hit Travis Marton, 23, of Valencia as Marton was crossing the intersection of Newport Coast Drive. Marton was pronounced dead at the scene.
Aviles did not stop, and Laguna Beach police arrested him about five miles from the intersection. His taxi had a smashed windshield, a dented hood and bumper and a missing driver’s side mirror. Scattered debris at the crash scene was consistent with the damage on the taxi, police said.
During Aviles’ sentencing in Orange County Superior Court, Marton’s mother, Ricky, described her son as genuine, humble, caring and hard-working. Marton had finished college in June 2014 with a degree in bioengineering.
“I try to remember all the good times we had with our son during his 23 years here with us and the wonderful life he had created for himself,” said Marton’s father, Andrew. “But I still cry every day when I think of all the joys in life yet to come. The loss of my son is not one finite moment. It is a continuous loss that will unfold over the course of my lifetime.”
Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
