NEW YORK CITY (BNO NEWS) – A New York man was sentenced after hiding in Ecuador for more than ten years, prosecutors said Friday.

Jose Heras struck and killed Nemec in 1997, fleeing the scene without reporting the incident, but he surrendered two days later and was arrested. He pleaded guilty to causing the death of Kristen Nemec while driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated, at an excessive speed, and with a suspended license.

Heras posted bail at $3,500 as he was arraigned on the indictment in July 1997. But in September 1997, Heras failed to appear in court and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest for bail jumping. Heras then fled to Ecuador in order to avoid prosecution, adopted a false identity, and lived under an alias for 12 years.

“Kristen Nemec, a 25-year-old California tourist, was still wearing the lavender bridesmaid dress and pearl necklace she had worn for her friend’s Manhattan wedding and reception when a drunk driver ended her life 13 years ago,” District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. said. “Hours earlier she was confidently smiling and posing for photographs with the bride and seven other bridesmaids. That same May evening, Jose Heras drank alcohol and made the decision to get behind the wheel of a car with a suspended license.”

A multi-agency international investigation was held in August 2009, and Heras was caught and deported back to the United States. He was sentenced Friday to 3½ to 7 years in prison (2-4 years on the Vehicular Manslaughter charge consecutive with 1½ to 3 years on the Bail Jumping charge).

“While this case demonstrates that although time may pass, the wheels of justice keep turning, it is one more death that could have been prevented. This Office will continue to enhance its fight against vehicular injury and death by aggressively prosecuting these cases and finding new ways to prevent them,” Vance concluded.