Family and friends of Benjamin Montalvo, the 21-year-old who was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver in 2020, gathered to hold a vigil in his memory on Saturday on the day that the woman who was behind the wheel was released from prison years early.
They decided to turn their pain into action, remembering their lost loved one with a vigil near the spot where he was hit in June 2020, when he was riding bikes with his friends near Centennial High School, where he graduated.
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Benjamin Montalvo. The Montalvo Family
He was hit from behind by 28-year-old Neomi Renee Velado, leaving him with fatal injuries. Montalvo's family members say she was texting at the time of the crash and that she was previously involved in several other hit-and-run crashes.
"This is a tough spot. It's a hard spot for us to be at," Montalvo's mother, Kelli, said. "She was texting, she was impaired, she had exchanged 24 texts within the six minutes surrounding the crash."
Instead of stopping to help Montalvo, family members say that Velado fixed her windshield the next morning before going to work and eventually turned herself into police.
Last month, the Montalvo family received notice from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation that Velado was eligible for early release. She was released Saturday, just two and a half years into her nine-year sentence, which began in 2023.
In the time since the deadly crash, the Montalvos say that Velado has never shown any remorse or apologized.
"I wish you knew the Benjamin that we know. I hope that you carry him with you. I hope that this changes you," Kelli Montalvo said.
They called CDCR to ask if there was a mistake, but were told that she had probably earned credits that allowed her early release.
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The vigil held by friends and family of Benjamin Montalvo on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026 in Corona. CBS LA
Now, they're fighting to change state law. They recently met with a team from Gov. Gavin Newsom's office, who promised to make efforts to strengthen penalties on repeat offenders.
"She barely did any time, and the amount of time she took away from Ben and his entire family, it's just, it's not fair," said Alysha Enriquez.
They said that the reason for Saturday's vigil was to make sure that his life would never be forgotten. They gathered around a cross now planted in the ground on the side of the street that says, "Beandip," one of Montalvo's nicknames.
"We're here tonight to take a heartbreaking day, a gut-punch day, for us, and turn it into being about love winning," Kelli Montalvo said.
They're hopeful that their own actions can help make a change before another family is faced with a similar tragedy.
"It happened to us. We can't get our boy bad, but he's looking from up there, and he's proud of what we're doing," said Montalvo's father, Eddie.
CBS LA reached out to CDCR for clarification on Velado's release, but said that the information on her early release credits was unavailable because of a California state privacy law. Velado did not respond to a similar request for comment.