A California man who tried to toss several containers of alcohol out of his truck after he collided with another car, killing four people, was sentenced to prison.

Aleim Alavez, 25, pleaded guilty to four counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and was sentenced by a judge to 12 years in prison. On Tuesday, as he appeared in court to hear his sentence, Alavez offered an apology to the families of the four men he was responsible for killing — 27-year-old Faruk Cetin, 23-year-old Mahsun Dursun, 27-year-old Abdurrezak Hizmali, and 25-year-old Baris Savas.

According to courtroom reporting by local CBS affiliate KFMB, prosecutors said that Alavez was driving 108 mph when he plowed his Toyota Tacoma pickup truck into a Toyota Prius carrying the four men, all Turkish refugees.

Local NBC affiliate KNSD was also in the courtroom and reported more details about the crash provided by prosecutors in court. According to prosecutors, the collision — which occurred at about 1:30 a.m. on July 19, 2024 — caused Alavez”s truck to flip upside down while the Prius carrying the four victims veered off the road and crashed. All four passengers were ejected from the vehicle and sustained fatal injuries.

According to KNSD’s reporting at the time of the crash, two of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while two more died at the hospital. The victims’ families watched Tuesday’s court proceedings remotely from Turkey.

Prosecutors said that after an onlooker pulled Alavez from his part of the wreck, he witnessed Alavez trying to get rid of several alcohol containers by throwing them over the bridge nearby. Deputy District Attorney Spencer Sharpe stated in court, “Rather than render aid to any of those dying victims, this defendant decided to throw alcohol containers that were all over his car over the freeway.”

San Diego Superior Court Judge Marian Gaston noted that two hours after the crash, Alavez’s blood alcohol level was 0.16, twice the legal level in the state. She also mentioned that Alavez seemed to be genuinely remorseful, telling the court, “The shame that he feels is obvious. It radiates from him that he knows what a bad decision he made and how much he’s hurt other people.”

Gaston sentenced Alavez to 12 years in state prison.