Central Minnesota man gets 3.5 years in prison for crash that launched passenger into traffic

A Benton County District judge sentenced a 28-year-old Rockville, Minn., man to nearly 3.5 years in prison for driving drunk and causing the death of a 17-year-old passenger last August.

Aler L. Gomez-Lucas was charged with two felony counts of criminal vehicular homicide and one misdemeanor count of drunken driving. In March, he pleaded guilty to one count of criminal vehicular homicide as part of a plea agreement that dismissed the two remaining counts.

According to court documents, the Minnesota State Patrol responded to a report of a rollover and a vehicle hitting a person on Hwy. 10 near Little Rock Lake about 3:30 a.m. Aug. 11, 2023.

Gomez-Lucas reportedly was driving a Nissan Pathfinder eastbound on Hwy. 10 when the vehicle left the roadway, went into the ditch and rolled over, coming to rest on its roof. A passenger, 17-year-old Nurban Ruvelsi-Perez, died after he was thrown from the vehicle and struck by a GMC Sierra pickup.

The pickup was driven by a 20-year-old Royalton man. Officers noted minimal damage to the front of the truck, leading investigators to believe Ruvelsi-Perez likely was on the ground and incapacitated when he was hit.

A second 17-year-old passenger in the Nissan told police that Gomez-Lucas was “driving fast and lost control of the vehicle,” documents state. That passenger was not injured.

Officers noted a “strong odor of alcohol coming from [Gomez-Lucas], indicated that he appeared lethargic and sleepy and that his eyes were bloodshot and watery,” documents state.

A preliminary breath test showed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.178, more than two times the legal limit.

Judge Robert Raupp on Friday sentenced Gomez-Lucas to 41 months in prison with credit for 368 days served.