Court delays 'disappointing' for Utah mom of hit-and-run victim

Farmington • Two months after her son was killed while crossing a Clearfield street, Darla Allred said she's disappointedwith the ensuing legal process.

Three times now, she has filed into a Farmington courtroom to watch the man accused of driving drunk and hitting her son appear in court. Three times, the case has been delayed.

"It's kind of disappointing, because they keep prolonging it," she said Wednesday.

Jose Antonio Cortez Orozco, 37, has pleaded not guilty in 2nd District Court to charges of second-degree felony automobile homicide in Kelly Allred's May 20 death, along with charges of felony failure to stop for police, leaving the scene of an injury or fatal accident, and misdemeanor violation of a protective order.

On Wednesday, he appeared in court, and his attorney asked for three more weeks to either decide to accept a plea deal or schedule a trial. Defense attorney Todd Utzinger told the judge he needed the time to translate the evidence from English to Spanish, and discuss the information with his client. Orozco is to be back in court on Sept. 3.

Darla Allred said it's been hard on their family since her son's death.

"It's a big loss to lose your son," she said. "His kids, they are missing him. It's hard on everyone."

Police have said events leading to the fatal accident began when Orozco went to the Freeport Center in Clearfield at about 10 p.m. on May 20 with flowers for his estranged wife, despite a protective order forbidding contact with her.

Police, notified of the violation, later spotted Orozco driving in the area and tried to pull him over.

Orozco, according to a probable cause statement, refused to stop and accelerated away from police. A brief high-speed chase ensued, but the pursuit was soon terminated for public safety reasons.

Orozco was believed to be traveling at 60 mph or more when, about 10 minutes later, he allegedly struck Kelly Allred in the intersection of 700 South (Highway 193) and State Street (Highway 26).

Darla Allred said in May that said her son had just got off work before the accident. He was hungry, and decided to go to a nearby Maverik convenience store for a snack. She said her son walked everywhere — he didn't own a car — so the stroll to buy two hot dogs and a bag of Doritos was not uncommon for the man.

The mother said her son was walking back from the convenience store when he was struck. Kelly Allred died about four hours later at a hospital, the mother said.

Orozco was later arrested at his North Salt Lake home.

After the arrest, Orozco allegedly failed several field sobriety tests, and a blood sample also was taken, showing a blood alcohol level of 0.15, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08.

Orozco remains in the Davis County Jail under a federal immigration hold order, as well as $50,000 bail.

jmiller@sltrib.com

Twitter: @jm_miller