Man accused in deadly 2024 I-70 crash pleads guilty to lower charges
Nia Hinson
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A man accused of killing two women on Interstate 70 in Columbia in 2024 accepted a plea deal on Tuesday that reduces his charges.
Walter Montejo, 27, entered open pleas for two counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of fourth-degree assault. The defense and prosecution agreed to the open plea, with the exception that Montejo will face a maximum of four years in prison. A judge will have the final say.
Former Cole County Prosecutor Bill Tackett said open pleas typically reached when the prosecution and defense can’t meet in the middle.
“It becomes the Wild west because the judge can do whatever they want,” Tackett said. “The person sitting there has absolutely no idea whether this is five years, 10 years, 15 years…it’s up to the maximum and that’s horrific.”
Montejo was charged with two counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter, one count of second-degree assault, misdemeanor driving while revoked and driving without insurance before prosecutors proposed the reduced charges on Monday ahead of his hearing.
Montejo killed Cindy Helms, 54, of Rockwood, Tennessee, and Melvina Colin, 84, of Broomfield, Colorado, in August 2024.
Court documents say he was driving a tractor-trailer when the vehicle crossed the centerline and crashed head-on into the U-haul Helms and Colin were in. Court records filed on Monday said he entered a lane when it was not safe to do so and over-corrected into the opposite lanes, leading to the deadly crash.
Jail records show Montejo is also being held on an immigration detainer. A judge on Tuesday said that as part of the plea, Montejo could face deportation. He is originally from El Salvador. Tackett said when a defendant gets deported depends on whether or not the plea of guilty and sentencing to a felony plays into the deportation.
“Federal law trumps state law. If ICE or the feds took him then there would still be the sentence here to be served if he’s deported and comes back, the sentence is real,” Tackett said. “But in the short term, the federal government would be superior to the state government in terms of deportation.”
Montejo’s lawyers declined to comment.
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 24.