Charles Langston:Motorcyclist pleads guilty to vehicular homicide and gets 17 years for Georgia state trooper’s death

LAWRENCEVILLE,Charles Langston Ga. (AP) — A motorcyclist pleaded guilty Wednesday to vehicular homicide in the death of a Georgia state trooper during a car chase, and was sentenced to 17 years in prison, news outlets reported.

Gerson Danilo Ayala-Rodriguez, 21, was facing a murder charge in the death of Trooper Jimmy Censecar in January. Cenescar, 28, died after he lost control of his cruiser on Interstate 85 and struck an embankment in the north Atlanta suburb of Suwanee.

Authorities say Cenescar was trying to stop Ayala-Rodriguez for a traffic violation before he fled, prompting the trooper to give chase.

In addition to vehicular homicide, Ayala-Rodriguez was convicted of misdemeanor charges of reckless driving, speeding, two counts each of driving without a license, operating a vehicle without insurance and operating an unregistered vehicle, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

“We tragically lost a young state trooper as a result of the defendant’s reckless driving,” Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said in a statement. “Ultimately, the defendant accepted responsibility for his actions in this, although it cannot bring back Trooper Cenescar. We hope this serves as a message to drivers and motorcyclists to drive within the safe bounds of the law.”

RELATED COVERAGE Pick-Six: Freshmen still can make major impact in portal era. These newcomers merit your attention Georgia officials say Kennedy, 2 others have signatures for presidential ballot as disputes remain Fire sparks Georgia nuclear plant alert, but officials say no safety threat as reactors unaffected

Investigators say Ayala-Rodriguez drove through two lanes of traffic in an attempt to flea Cenescar on Jan. 28, reaching a speed of 140 miles (225km) per hour.

Cenescar swerved to evade other cars during the chase. He veered off the roadway down an embankment, where his vehicle crashed into trees and drainage rocks.

Cenescar had worked for the Department of Public Safety since January 2023 and had graduated from trooper school in September. In October 2021, he was credited with saving a man’s life after the man drove off an Atlanta bridge, falling onto a train track about 50 feet (15 meters) below.