SALEM, Ore. (KOIN) – It was an emotional day in court for family members of three teenagers hit and killed by a driver police say was drunk. The deadly crash happened Sunday night in Salem.
Sheri Capobianco is the mother of one of the victims. She said, “You know, you just want to hold them one more time, you just want to kiss them one more time. Like, I would give up everything I have just to spend one more day with her.”
Sherri said losing her daughter Madison feels like a nightmare—only she can’t wake up. “I’m still trying to figure out a way to go on.”
Investigators say 25-year-old Juan Carlos Rodriguez Palacios was drunk—nearly 3 times the legal limit—when he ran a red light Sunday night in his Jeep Wrangler, hitting three best friends in their Toyota Camry.
Sheri said, “The fact that he chose to get behind the wheel impaired like that, not thinking, I mean I just hope God forgives him because right now I don’t.
There’s a mangled fence, tire tracks and a growing memorial at the scene for 19-year-old Trinity Watt, 18-year-old Makayla Tryon, and 19-year-old Madison Capobianco.
Sheri said of her daughter, “She loved fiercely, she loved many and she wanted everybody to be happy.”
The driver is facing multiple charges including manslaughter, assault, and DUII.
KOIN learned he was also arrested for DUII in June of 2015 and went through a diversion program. But prosecutors say that wasn’t enough to stop him from doing it again. So many lives now forever changed.
Sheri showed a picture of her daughter and said, “That is her… Madison. And this is me. And this sums up everything it was always me and my babies always.”
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