(Journal & Courier file photo) Cesar De La Rosa is escorted in to the Tippecanoe County Courthouse by head courthouse bailiff Chuck Molter on July 20 in Lafayette.

By Joe Gerrety
jgerrety@journalandcourier.com

A Lafayette man who drove after smoking marijuana and caused a crash that killed a 9-year-old boy last summer could face up to 14 years in prison.

Cesar De La Rosa, 24, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Tippecanoe Superior Court 1 to driving with marijuana in his blood and possession of marijuana.

If Judge Don Johnson accepts the plea agreement at a scheduled June 8 sentencing hearing, De La Rosa also would be required to pay restitution to the family of the victim, Jimmy DeBoy.

"He's very sad," Patricia Delgado, De La Rosa's mother, said after the plea hearing Wednesday. "He always is crying for this accident."

Charges of maintaining a common nuisance and possession of marijuana that were pending when De La Rosa had the wreck would be dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Six years of any sentence De La Rosa receives would be non-suspendable because he was free on bond at the time of the crash. He has been in jail since the day of the crash.

Jimmy DeBoy was riding his bicycle on the sidewalk on South Ninth Street when De La Rosa's car jumped the curb and ran over him.

During questioning by the judge, De La Rosa said he has been using marijuana since he was 15. He dropped out of Jefferson High School as a sophomore and later obtained his GED.

Prosecutor Pat Harrington said a blood test showed De La Rosa had smoked marijuana shortly before the crash, and De La Rosa admitted he had drunk a beer.

De La Rosa told Johnson he was driving with his left foot because of an injury to his dominant right foot the day of the crash. He said he was headed north on South Ninth Street when an elderly driver in front of his car stopped short. He said he swerved to avoid a rear-end collision, and his Chevrolet Impala jumped the curb and ran over Jimmy and his bicycle.

"Destiny crossed this boy's life and my son's life in this accident," Patricia Delgado said after the hearing. "Cesar's family and friends are all very sorry for this. Nobody deserve this happens."

Jimmy's parents, along with several supporters, attended the 8 a.m. plea hearing, but they declined to comment on the plea agreement.

In addition to marijuana, according to court documents, De La Rosa also tested positive for a prescription pain medication and a prescription anti-anxiety medication. His attorney, Gregg Theobald, said De La Rosa, who had suffered fractures to his lower right leg a few weeks before the crash, had a valid prescription for the pain medication Lortab.

Harrington said the DeBoys are aware of the ramifications of the agreement. The charges De La Rosa has admitted include a Class B felony, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years and acknowledges that he was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the crash.

"To say anyone really agrees with this, it's hard," Harrington said. "No one wants to be a victim of a crime."