Family grieves loss of daughter as drunk driver guilty of killing her heads to prison

TAMPA, Fla. - A man who pleaded guilty to killing a 21-year-old in a drunk driving crash is headed to prison as her family struggles to come to grips with her death.  

Pedro Aviles says his daughter Alexis was winning in life. The 21-year-old was close to getting her master’s degree in digital media from Otis College Art and Design, a private college in California.

"She was very bright and intelligent," said Aviles. 

But he says his world came to a stop the day Alexis was tragically killed.

"She’s my only child feel like an emptiness inside sometimes I feel like we don’t have a life anymore," explained Aviles.

On July 16, 2021, Alexis was the passenger a Hyundai Santa Fe. Prosecutors say, Taylor Silva, 21, was behind the wheel and driving drunk. They say as he approached Bruce B Downs Boulevard and Bearss Avenue in Tampa, he hit a median, lost control, and hit a tree.

Alexis died of her injuries. Silva survived and was charged with DUI manslaughter. Nearly a year later, he was taking a plea deal.

In exchange for a guilty plea, he was sentenced to nine years in prison followed by ten years of probation.

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Silva will also have his driver's license permanently revoked.

There were tears from the gallery as the prosecutor, Christine Brown, choked back tears while reading Aviles’ statement to the court.

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"Never hear the sound of her voice. Never hear her laugh, cry or even hold her again makes us wish we weren’t alive," read an emotional Brown. 

Silva never spoke, but Tampa judge Mark Kiser had a few words for him.

"Mr. Silva, some horrible consequences from that bad decision you made," said Kiser. 

As Silva heads to prison, Alexis' family is left with precious memories of their daughter and unfulfilled dreams. 

"What a parent would want in a child and we had it, we had it all," shared Aviles.