‘We need him sentenced,’ Family of 18-year-old killed by wrong way driver responds to arrest

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Six months after the death of their son, days aren’t going by any easier for the Stewart family.

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“It’s everyday, you wake up and realize he’s not here,” says Robert Stewart, father of Trenton Stewart, “You have to process it over and over again.”

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Action News Jax told you back in May when Trenton Stewart, an 18-year-old Creekside High School graduate, was killed in May by a driver going the wrong way.

JSO has now arrested Ariel Monteagudo in connection to his killing, charged with vehicular homicide. Monteagudo’s arrest report says he was going 113 miles per hour, about 70 miles over the speed limit, down Old St. Augustine Road on May 9th when he hit Trenton head on.

Trenton was killed in the crash. He had just finished his first year playing football for Stetson University and was on his way home for summer break.

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“Most days, it’s hard to fathom this is the reality of our lives,” says Mandi Stewart, Trenton’s mother, “I’ll never have Trenton back, I’ll never have him back home.”

Action News Jax went through state court records and found Monteagudo has a lengthy criminal history. He served 10 years in the Broward County Prison for another vehicular homicide charge back in 2002.

In his first court appearance for this case, Monteagudo claimed he wasn’t responsible for Trenton’s death, saying his car was ‘stopped’ and ‘broken down.’

Watching the testimony, Trenton’s parents call it sickening.

“I was infuriated by it,” Robert Stewart says.

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But more than answers, the family is finding reasons to keep moving forward. The Stewarts have raised more than $30,000 through the Trenton Stewart Foundation, Trenton’s namesake, to help families of other young athletes.

“I don’t want the bad in this situation to overshadow all the good we have, because, at the end of the day, that’s what Trenton would want,” Mandi Stewart says.

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Monteagudo’s next court appearance is scheduled for November 29. Action News Jax will keep following his case and trial, with updates provided on air and online.

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