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Written by: A. Smith
Published October 29, 2025 @ 11:07 AM ET
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. – A driver who was racing on the Route 316 skyway ramp to I-85 when a pickup truck plunged more than 30 feet, killing five teenagers, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Court records show 22-year-old Emanuel Esfahani pleaded guilty in the 2023 Labor Day crash, which police said happened as he and a truck were racing at more than 110 miles per hour on the ramp in Gwinnett County.
The crash sent the Toyota Tacoma carrying the teens over a concrete barrier, falling 37 feet onto an exit ramp below. All five teens in the truck were killed: 17-year-old Katie Gaitan, 16-year-old Ashley Gaitan, 17-year-old Coral Lorenzo, 18-year-old Hung Nguyen — who was driving — and 19-year-old Abner Santana. Sisters Katie and Ashley Gaitan and their friend Coral Lorenzo were students at Lakeside High School.
Esfahani was sentenced to 30 years — with 16 to serve in prison and the remaining 14 on probation — after pleading guilty to five counts of first-degree vehicular homicide and related charges.
During the October 20 hearing, prosecutors described how the night began as “a night of essentially just hanging out,” with the teens stargazing on the roof of an abandoned Ingles before stopping at a QT gas station. There, they met Esfahani, whom they did not previously know, and asked if he wanted to race.
Investigators said Esfahani tried to pass a slow-moving ice cream truck on the right shoulder but swerved left when he saw a parked FedEx truck. He lost control of his car and struck the Tacoma, sending both vehicles spinning. The Tacoma hit a wall and went over the barrier, falling more than 30 feet.
Prosecutors also revealed one previously unreported survivor from the truck.
At sentencing, parents of the victims tearfully described the pain of losing their children.
“Every day of my life, I remember my princess,” one mother said. “And I will remember her for every day for the rest of my life.”
Another mother told the court she lost her only child. “I still haven’t been able to get over it, even today,” she said.
A third mother said it was “not fair that something like this should have happened because of a decision that such an irresponsible person made.”
“No one deserves this, the magnitude of the accident,” she said. “They left and they paid with their entire life. I will never be able to hug my doll again.”
Esfahani’s grandmother also addressed the victims’ families, saying, “I want you to know that you’re not alone in your suffering and grief. We think of you all the time… We pray that in time you will find peace and comfort.” She said her grandson told her, “That’s all I think about, Grandma.”
Esfahani’s attorney said his client pleaded guilty in part to spare the victims’ families from a trial and that he is “very, very remorseful.”
“I’m very sorry for the families,” Esfahani told the court. “I pray for peace and love. That’s it, Your Honor.”
The judge called the tragedy “difficult to put into words,” noting that “young and stupid mistakes can sometimes have enormous consequences.”
“There are five lives that ended, one that has been seriously affected, and any number of people whose families will never be the same after all of this,” the judge said. “The sentence I impose has to reflect the seriousness of what happened and the loss of life that occurred as a result of your actions.”