EL PASO COUNTY — Mary Abiera-Lumbres was on her way to another school day for her senior year at Widefield High School when a driver in a white truck struck her Toyota Prius, killing her.
It would mark the beginning of a long story her family would spend years trying to find a resolution to.
The driver of the truck, who was uninjured in the crash, was Hunter Minalga, an airman stationed at Peterson Space Force Base. Records show Minalga was speeding more than 20 miles over the 55 mph speed limit on Marksheffel Road at the time of the crash.
The crash that took Abiera-Lumbres' life was on November 3, 2021. By January, 2023 Minalga pleaded guilty to careless driving resulting in death, a misdemeanor.
His plea agreement included a five-year deferred sentence, meaning if he followed the requirements for the next five years, he would avoid jail time, and the case would be expunged from his record.
“She was the nicest person you'd ever meet, and I'm not just saying that because she's my daughter,” said Manny Abiera-Lumbres, Mary’s father.
A military family themselves, Abiera-Lumbres moved around growing up, and her parents said she knew how to make people feel welcome.
“Mary was very good at seeing people and helping people to feel seen and heard and valued,” said Catherine Abiera-Lumbres.
At 18 years old, she had already applied to colleges in the hopes of becoming a pharmacist when the crash that took her life ended those dreams. Mary’s acceptance letters would arrive after her death, giving her parents constant reminders of the tragedy that changed their lives forever.
“So it was hard,” said Catherine Abiera-Lumbres. “We would get emails saying like, ‘apply for your dorm!’, ‘apply for your scholarship!”’
The conditions of Minalga’s deferred sentence included letters of apology to family members and 300 hours of community service, with hours completed with the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) Major Crash Team in the first year.
The Abiera-Lumbres family said they wanted to see the case go to trial, but, it did not. A year after Minalga’s guilty plea, Catherine Abiera-Lumbres wanted to learn what Minalga had completed as part of his deferred sentence.
She had yet to receive a letter in the mail and she would later learn Minalga had not performed a single hour of community service with CSPD as required in his sentencing.
"Like, for a whole year. Imagine, you kill someone, and for a whole year, you do nothing. Nothing to make it right. It's like, did you even care?" said Lumbres.
Minalga would later find himself back in an El Paso County courtroom in May 2024, about five months after the one-year mark of his sentencing.
His probation officer said Minalga had difficulty scheduling with CSPD because of his work schedule. Minalga claimed he thought he had five years to complete any community service.
Prosecutors pointed out Minalga had only contacted CSPD once between January 2023 and January 2024. In that May 2024 hearing, the judge ordered Minalga to complete 60 hours of community service with CSPD before an August hearing.
When he returned to court that August, it was revealed he completed those hours from June 20 to August 17. A CSPD detective testified saying Minalga had only contacted CSPD once in March of 2023. After CSPD responded, Minalga didn’t follow up.
In an August 22, 2024 hearing, the judge ended up sentencing Minalga to one year in jail, the maximum sentence careless driving resulting in death carries in Colorado.
“I think we rode like a little wave, like a little high,” said Catherine Abiera-Lumbres. “When we found [he was going to jail], I was like I’m relieved, like I got justice for my daughter.”
The Abiera-Lumbres family wanted to know what would happen to Minalga’s military service.
They would come to learn Minalga would separate from the military while in jail, but he would not be dishonorably discharged because the case was handled in civilian court, not a military court-martial.
“We felt betrayed,” said Catherine Abiera-Lumbres.
There are several characterizations of military discharge beyond “honorable” and “dishonorable.” If the case is not handled in a military court, the discharge status of the service member is considered private information under the Privacy Act.
Ryan Coward, a military law expert in Colorado Springs, said it’s not typical for a service member to be convicted of a crime and receive an honorable discharge.
“The service member’s commander will always have the choice when there’s a civilian conviction on whether or not they want to pursue discharging the member,” said Coward.
When a military member is involved in a crime, it can be prosecuted in civilian court, military court, or both.
“Oftentimes, the military, for offenses that are committed out here in the Colorado community, will defer to the civilians, but they still can prosecute the person if they want to," said Coward.
Coward said military members serving more than six years are entitled to additional due process before being discharged.
“Essentially, they get an administrative trial, usually with three members, senior members of the military, they will look at the misconduct and say, 'does it justify separating the service member from the military?'” said Coward. “So, they don't go to a court martial, but they go to this other kind of board to make this determination.”
“That's the explanation I want is like, why? Why was this person kept in the military?” said Lumbres.
News5 began requesting Minalga’s military personnel records in September. After months of not getting answers, Peterson Space Force Base said the request needed to be made through the Air Force Personnel Center.
In a statement sent to News5 from Peterson Space Force Base, a spokesperson said the following:
“We cannot comment on the specific details of an individual's military service or discharge status, as this information is protected by privacy laws. The Department of the Air Force takes the privacy of its service members seriously and adheres to all applicable laws and regulations regarding the release of personal information.”
An additional Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was sent to the Air Force Personnel Center. That request was later labeled as “closed” as the Air Force said it was a duplicate request. The FOIA request in September is still labeled as “In Progress.”
News5 also reached out to Minalga by sending him a letter to the El Paso County Jail. Attempts to reach him through his wife were unsuccessful.
The Abiera-Lumbres family wants answers with how Minalga’s case was handled and if his discharge will be classified as honorable.
With communication from Peterson saying he would not be dishonorably discharged, it left them believing his discharge status was characterized as honorable.
Catherine Abiera-Lumbres hopes that sharing what’s happened since her daughter’s death could spark change, “what I would like to see, hopefully, is that... they change their policy so that another parent, another family, does not have to sit where we're sitting right now and feel this betrayal."
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