A decade-long legal saga came to an end in a Douglas County courtroom on Monday when Eswin Mejia, the 29-year-old man who fled from the United States after crashing into and killing 21-year-old Sarah Root in South Omaha in 2016, was sentenced to serve anywhere from 20 to 22 years in a Nebraska prison.
Eswin Mejia is escorted out of Douglas County District Courtroom 409 on Monday after being sentenced to 20 to 22 years in prison in connection with the crash that killed Sarah Root in 2016.
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Eswin Mejia is escorted out of Douglas County District Courtroom 409 after being sentenced 20 to 22 years in prison in connection to the fatal crash that killed Sarah Root in 2016, in Omaha, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026.
Michelle Root, mother of Sarah Root, is embraced after Eswin Mejia was sentenced to prison in connection to Sarah's death, at the Douglas County Courthouse in Omaha, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. Mejia, 29, was sentenced to 20 to 22 years in prison in connection to the 2016 fatal crash that killed Sarah Root, 21.
Michelle Root, mother of Sarah Root, talks with reporters after Eswin Mejia was sentenced to prison in connection to Sarah's death, at the Douglas County Courthouse in Omaha, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. Mejia, 29, was sentenced to 20 to 22 years in prison in connection to the 2016 fatal crash that killed Sarah Root, 21.
Michelle Root, mother of Sarah Root, talks with reporters after Eswin Mejia was sentenced to prison in connection to Sarah's death, at the Douglas County Courthouse in Omaha, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. Mejia, 29, was sentenced to 20 to 22 years in prison in connection to the 2016 fatal crash that killed Sarah Root, 21.
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Facetime's Michelle Root, mother of Sarah Root, at the Douglas County Courthouse in Omaha, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. Eswin Mejia, 29, was sentenced to 20 to 22 years in prison in connection to the 2016 fatal crash that killed Sarah Root, 21.
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Facetime's Scott Root and Michelle Root, parents of Sarah Root, at the Douglas County Courthouse in Omaha, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. Eswin Mejia, 29, was sentenced to 20 to 22 years in prison in connection to the 2016 fatal crash that killed Sarah Root, 21.
Scott Root, father of Sarah Root, talks with reporters after Eswin Mejia was sentenced to prison in connection to Sarah's death, at the Douglas County Courthouse in Omaha, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. Mejia, 29, was sentenced to 20 to 22 years in prison in connection to the 2016 fatal crash that killed Sarah Root, 21.
