A Pitkin County judge on Tuesday sentenced the driver of a fatal hit-and-run to 23 days in jail. 

Andrea Eloiza Contreras Canales, 21, from Glenwood Springs, will see the sentence after hitting Lisa Sabatka, 33, from Aspen, as Sabatka was walking on Highway 82 last December. She was pronounced dead at Aspen Valley Hospital about 30 minutes after the collision, according to a police affidavit.

On Monday, Canales admitted that she drove away from the scene after hitting Sabatka. Canales entered a guilty plea agreement for a careless-driving conviction, a misdemeanor traffic offense, and faced seven to 35 days in jail. Judge Laura Makar set the sentence at 23 days, telling Canales in a Tuesday sentencing hearing that the punishment is “commensurate with the gravity of the offenses.”

“If we cause such a consequential tragedy, we similarly have to act responsibly when such a tragedy occurs,” she told Canales. 

Makar also granted deferred judgement on Canales’ felony charge for leaving the scene of an accident where serious bodily injury occurred. She will see three years supervised probation, after which the charge will be erased from her record if she meets the probation terms.

On Dec. 14, 2024, Sabatka was walking near her apartment at Aspen County Inn after exiting a Roaring Fork Transportation Authority bus at 10:17 p.m., according to the affidavit. Police estimates that she was hit between 10:50 p.m. and 10:53 p.m. After she died, the investigators recorded Sabatka’s Blood Alcohol Concentration at 0.286%. 

Both the district attorney and public defender acknowledged on Tuesday that Sabatka had been walking in the street when the collision occurred, according to an investigation conducted by Aspen Police.

Though Canales at first drove away from the collision, she returned to the accident over an hour later and told police she’d struck “a dark figure.” She refused to take a voluntary Preliminary Breath Test or Field Sobriety Test that night but told police she ingested NyQuil in the three hours before driving, according to the affidavit.

Investigators found no trace of alcohol or drugs when they took her blood sample eight hours later.

“There were no metabolites left in her system,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Robert Whiting said. “Investigation and inquiry from The People has indicated that NyQuil and metabolites of NyQuil would last longer than the eight hours between her time on scene when speaking with investigators and the time of that blood draw, early the next morning.”

Sabatka’s mother, Sharon, had her attorney read a letter on her behalf in Tuesday court proceedings, outlining the gravity of her loss.

“I’ve lost my only daughter, and my son has lost his sister so suddenly, which is difficult to understand and accept. I will never know if Lisa could have been saved, if she had been immediately rushed to the hospital,” the attorney stated on behalf of the mother. “I hope the city looks into improving safety measures from Highway 82 where my daughter was killed, to prevent other people from being injured. I also hope Andrea will learn you have to help others, not just drive away. We are a country that takes care of our injured, old, and sick. Andrea has her whole life ahead of her, and I want her to do well, but I also want her to spend a short time in jail, for her to have time to reflect and realize the importance of her actions on the lives of others.”

Canales also read a statement apologizing to Sabatka’s mother.

“I would like for her to know that deep within my heart,” Canales said, “I apologize for the tragedy that happened and that every day I wake up thinking or hoping that I didn’t go out that night, that that didn’t happen that night because it hurts me, as well.”