A 17th Judicial District judge sentenced a man to 24 years in prison after driving with a blood alcohol content over three times the legal limit and killing a mother and son.

Judge Priscilla Loew sentenced 37-year-old Jose Menjivar on Friday following his guilty plea to two counts of vehicular homicide on Sept. 19, according to a news release from the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. The charges stem from a DUI crash that occurred on Dec. 12, 2023.

The crash occurred at the intersection of Main Street and Miramonte Boulevard near Broomfield High School. Menjivar drove his pickup truck at an estimated speed between 80 and 100 mph in a 40 mph school zone, eventually striking 46-year-old Melissa Powell’s SUV as she turned left from Miramonte onto Main Street, according to the release.

Powell and her 16-year-old son, Riordan Powell, died during the crash.

Two empty beer cans and an open beer can were found in Menjivar’s truck and a blood draw determined his blood alcohol content to be .249, over three times the legal limit.

Menjivar, a citizen of El Salvador, is believed to have at least five previous DUI convictions, spanning back to 2007, according to the release. On Dec. 8, 2023, Menjivar was sentenced to 365 days in a jail work release program for three separate DUIs in Boulder, but he was granted a stay of execution until a space became available in the Boulder jail’s work release program.

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Menjivar was deported four times.

“ICE records show that the subject has been previously removed and has no regard for immigration law,” Steve Kotecki, an ICE spokesperson, said in an email to The Denver Gazette.

A GoFundMe account for the Powells quickly raised more than $50,000 of its $60,000 goal.

“An immeasurable void has been left in our family and communities and the world feels less bright without them,” Kim Powell, Melissa’s sister-in-law, told The Denver Gazette.

The Denver Gazette reporter Nico Brambila contributed to this report