A 28-year-old motorist who has been previously convicted of DWAI and reckless driving was sentenced nearly 2 decades in prison for killing an Aurora couple while driving drunk in 2019.

Cameron M. Smith, 28, was sentenced to 18 years in prison on two counts of vehicular homicide by Judge Shay Whitaker in Arapahoe County District Court last week.

Smith previously pleaded guilty in on Feb. 22 to the two counts of vehicular homicide DUI and one count of first-degree assault, extreme in difference as apart of a plea agreement.

On Oct. 27, 2019, 23-year-old Amber Hamblin and 25-year-old Ja’Rel Woods were driving through the intersection of Interstate 225 and Mississippi Avenue in Aurora, when Smith “t-boned” Hamblin’s SUV.

Smith fled the scene of the crime following the crash, but left his wallet and driver’s license in the wrecked car. He was arrested shortly after when he was trying to get a ride at a gas station.

At the time of the crash, Smith was wanted for failure to appear in court on a traffic offense, according to a release from the court.

Hamblin was pronounced dead on-scene as a result of her injuries, while Woods suffered spinal fractures, a broken pelvis, a bruised lung and other injuries. He died a week later as a result of his injuries.

During the sentencing hearing on May 13, multiple family members of the deceased spoke on their behalf.

“This defendant has hurt so many families — not only mine and Ja’Rel’s, but also his own,” Hamblin’s father said. “To know that he was able to go up to the car, and instead of choosing to help the people he hit, he ran and hid. It is so callous and uncaring I can barely fathom the thought.”

District Attorney John Kellner said Smith made a carless decision that resulted in the death of two Aurora residents.

“It pains me to see yet another case where a defendant is drunk and yet makes the decision to get behind the wheel, with fatal consequences,” Kellner said in the release. “The drunk driver killed two people, looked at what he had done and ran off without offering help or calling for assistance. Absolutely this defendant deserves to be in prison for his actions.”