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Ariel Monteagudo, 40, is being sentenced for causing the crash in May 2023 that killed Creekside High School graduate Trenton Stewart.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville man who pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in a causing wrong-way crash that killed an 18-year-old, is being sentenced in Duval County court Friday morning.
Ariel Monteagudo, 40, was arrested by the United States Marshals Fugitive Task Force in November 2023, nearly six months after causing the crash on May 9, 2023. The teen who died was later identified as Trenton Stewart, a graduate of Creekside High School in St. Johns County.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said around 1 a.m. on May 9, 2023, Stewart was driving eastbound on Old St. Augustine Road. His family told First Coast News he was out delivering food through DoorDash to earn extra cash.
At the same time, police said Monteagudo was driving the wrong way, traveling over 100 mph in a 45-mph zone. He crashed head-on with Stewart’s vehicle, which flipped and crashed into a tree 138 feet from the crash site, according to a press release from State Attorney Melissa Nelson.
Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department crews had to cut through Stewart’s vehicle in order to remove him from the wreckage, as both Stewart and Monteagudo suffered injuries in the crash and were taken to a local hospital. Stewart died at the hospital, while Monteagudo was intubated.
Stewart was a member of the Stetson University football team at the time of his death. He was named to the Fall 2022 Pioneer Football League Academic Honor Roll.
“He was a very good kid,” a teammate of Stewart said in a video the state played during the sentencing. “[He was] Like a brother to me. I love Trent to death.”
“So, we have this thing called ‘The Stetson Man’ on our wall, and Trent is the perfect embodiment of that in my opinion,” another teammate of Stewart said of him in the video. “Quitting was never an option for him. He never quit. He never backed down to a challenge. He never stopped. I have a tattoo on my chest for Trent, just for that. Every time I think about quitting, I look at my chest and I think about him every time because he wouldn’t do it, so I’m not gonna do it.”
The release from Nelson states that Monteagudo faces between eight to 12 years in Florida State Prison, followed by probation.
Monteagudo has been charged and convicted of vehicular homicide before, officials said. He spent 10 years in prison for that charge, among others, in Broward County.
