Man gets 11 years in prison For DUI hit-and-run that killed ex-local high school athlete
A 43-year-old man who killed a 23-year-old former high school and college football player in a hit-and-run crash in Desert Hot Springs has pleaded guilty to DUI gross vehicular manslaughter and was sentenced to 11 years in state prison.
Jose Roberto Tafoya-Flores pleaded guilty Tuesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio to one felony count each of DUI gross vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run causing death or injury, as well as one misdemeanor count of being an unlicensed operator, according to court records.
Tafoya-Flores was arrested at the intersection of Two Bunch Palms Trail and Palm Drive at approximately 1:30 a.m. on April 11, 2021, about an hour after killing former Shadow Hills High football star Isaiah Ortega-Dage, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP said Ortega-Dage of Indio was riding in a vehicle with a female driver when they stopped between the right lane and right shoulder of Palm Drive north of Varner Road. He got out and walked to the driver's side of the vehicle where he was struck by an oncoming pickup truck while standing in the right lane.
Ortega-Dage died at the scene 14 minutes after being struck, according to the Riverside County coroner's office.
He played football for Western New Mexico University after graduating from Shadow Hills High School.
Shadow Hills High School issued a release paying tribute to him:
"The Shadow Hills Knights football family has lost one of their own. Isaiah’s years at Shadow Hills were the years that the foundation of our football program was being laid. The Knights of those days played a big part in building the culture of Shadow Hills Athletics. Isaiah played a huge role in that culture and was an exemplary student-athlete. He was a Knight through and through and he will be missed. We mourn with his family during these trying times and we plan to honor his legacy as our football season moves forward."
His former coach at Shadow Hills, Richie DeTamble, shared a post that read in part, "I’ve spent over a day trying to gather my words, and woke up today wishing the news wasn’t true. But our Knight track and football programs have been rocked with the passing of one of our legends. Isaiah Ortega-Dage, class of 2015, was electric on the football field and one of the most gifted track athletes I’ve ever coached or been around."
How fast was Isaiah Ortega-Dage? THAT fast! And this is the home stretch of the 400m. 4x400m relay boys ran a 3:28.1 that day and held that record for 7 years. Yes, SEVEN! 💜 IOD7 🕊 pic.twitter.com/W2japYj5aI
— Shadow Hills TrackXC Coach (@CoachDeTamble) September 16, 2021
DeTamble shared that in addition to Ortega-Dage's remarkable athletic ability, he was a great dad who wanted to "give his beautiful daughter the best life possible. He was built to be a dad!"
