(WJAR) — Hector Bannister Sanchez was sentenced to 25 to 30 years in state prison on March 24, 2026, for the fatal crash that killed 54-year-old Lori Ann Medeiros in Taunton in 2022.
According to court documents, Sanchez fled from police during a narcotics investigation before crashing his vehicle into Medeiros's car, which was stopped at a red light. Medeiros later died at the hospital.
Witnesses reported that police were not pursuing Sanchez at the time of the crash. Medeiros was on her way to pick up her daughter from school. During the sentencing, family members delivered emotional statements, describing Medeiros as the glue of their family and pleading for justice.
Paul Medeiros, Lori's husband, expressed lingering questions about the circumstances of the incident, directing his remarks toward Sanchez. He detailed his pain, stating, “All my wife needed was 10 more seconds and she would still be alive.”
Sanchez apologized to the Medeiros family in court, acknowledging the pain his actions caused. In addition to the manslaughter conviction, he was also sentenced for drug trafficking charges, which will run concurrently with the manslaughter sentence.
The judge described statements from Lori's loved ones as moving and expressed sympathy for the family's loss. The crash investigation remains closed following the sentencing.