BULLHEAD CITY – A 14-year prison term was ordered Friday, February 21 for a Mohave Valley man held responsible for the deaths of two people in a two-vehicle collision nearly two years ago. The punishment imposed by Judge Doug Camacho was mandated in a plea agreement reached in the prosecution of Tyler Keller, 25.
Deputy Mohave County attorney James Schoppmann said the drivers of both vehicles had been drinking at Grass Beach on the Colorado River before they motored home separately on Laguna Drive on April 14, 2023. He said the 1999 Dodge Durango driven by Keller ran into the back of the utility task vehicle (UTV) operated by Robert Burke, 26, at about 8:00 p.m. in the vicinity of Aviation Drive.
Burke was placed on probation after pleading guilty to driving while under the influence of alcohol. Keller pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter, four aggravated assault charges and driving under the influence.
Schoppmann said all six people were ejected from the UTV that caught fire after the collision. Burke and three family members survived while his nephew Roman Burke, 5, and Lylian Galves, 23, died of their injuries following hospital treatment.
Several people addressing the Court during sentencing condemned the plea deal as being too lenient.
“Two lives were lost over stupidity,” one man said.
“Fourteen years is not enough,” said another.
Others expressed support for the defendant, including Roman’s mother Ashley Burke.
“My days are a lot less happy without them,” Ashley said her son and Galves. She told the Court that she suffers pain every day from a broken neck, brain damage and other injuries sustained in the accident.
“Emotionally, I’m a wreck without my son. He was my little man,” Ashley said. “He was my reason to be outside and now I find it hard to get outside and do anything.”
Ashley told Judge Doug Camacho, that Roman’s twin sister, who also survived the crash, is lost without her brother. Nonetheless, she said she recognized that the crash was an accident and said she will not live with hate in her heart the rest of her life.
Keller will be on supervised probation for five years, following his future prison release.
Dave Hawkins
