The driver who killed his son is about to be released. This SoCal mom is furious

A woman who killed a 21-year-old cyclist while driving and texting has fled the scene after serving less than a third of her nine-year sentence. The mother of the deceased is furious.

“How can you do this, be a repeat offender, kill someone and serve two and a half years of a nine-year sentence?” said Kellie Montalvo, speaking during her post-conviction detention. “It’s totally freaking us out.”

Montalvo recently received a letter from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, reviewed by The Times, informing him that Neomi Velado, the 28-year-old woman who killed her son Benjamin, is expected to be released on Saturday.

CDCR said in a statement that Velado’s first possible release date is the month of February. They said the date was determined based on good behavior credits and 124 days spent in custody before entering CDCR.

“He’s going to be released on Valentine’s Day, which is another stab in the gut,” Montalvo said.

Velado was texting with her boyfriend when she ran into Benjamin Montalvo and his car on June 11, 2020, while cycling in Corona. He had already been involved in four crashes, three of which involved interference with his phone, according to the California Office of Highway Traffic Safety.

In June 2023, he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and manslaughter.

During a July 2023 sentencing hearing, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Matthew C. Perantoni commented on the “civilization of leaving a boy on the street to die,” according to a Press Enterprise report.

The judge also noted that she tried to cover up her crime by fixing her window before going to work the next day, and although she turned herself in that night at her mother’s behest, she was photographed partying with her boyfriend in Las Vegas.

Prosecutors said he had been drinking and smoking marijuana before the crash, but because of the delay before he turned himself in, there was no evidence to charge him with DUI.

Velado is eligible for early release because of the debts he accumulated while incarcerated and the time he spent in custody before he was sentenced, according to the CDCR. Credits can be earned for things like completing rehabilitation or education programs, complying with laws or completing a wildland firefighting mission.

Most non-violent offenders can receive credits for up to 50% of their sentence, but Velado’s release after serving just under a third of his sentence is unusual. CDCR did not provide further details on how Velado accumulated enough credits to qualify for the early February release date.

“To be honest, we don’t respect his qualifications,” said Montalvo. “Where are Benjamin’s debts? Where are his adventures?

Montalvo believes there was a mistake in the counting of credits and has appealed to the governor’s office for help.

“It’s our last, very thin line of hope that someone will look into this for us, because the numbers don’t add up,” he said.

Montalvo said he met with a representative of the legal affairs team in Sacramento on Wednesday who told him that while Gov. Gavin Newsom can’t overturn an inmate’s early release, his office can check to see if the credits are calculated correctly. The administrator’s office forwarded comments to CDCR.

Montalvo plans to be in Sacramento on Thursday, where he will speak at a news conference in support of a new bipartisan legislative package aimed at strengthening DUI and safety laws. She has become a street safety advocate and, alongside her husband, Eddie Montalvo, founded the Inland Empire chapter of the nonprofit organization Streets Are for Everyone.

One of the newly proposed laws, SB 907, is very close to Montalvo’s heart because it would limit early release for criminals like Velado.

That law, proposed by Sen. Bob Archuleta (D-Pico Rivera), you can add aggravated vehicular homicide and vehicular homicide while intoxicated to the list of violent criminals. In California, felons convicted of violent crimes can only earn credits up to 15% of the length of their sentence.

SB 907 also aims to close the loophole for repeat DUI offenders. It would require that Watson’s warnings be read in court to all offenders charged with DUI and accepting a plea deal for hit and run. The warning – which explains the dangers and consequences of drunk driving – gives prosecutors the power to charge offenders with first degree murder if they later kill someone while intoxicated.

The statute was inspired by 18-year-old Braun Levi, who was killed by a suspected drunk driver in Manhattan Beach in May 2025. That driver had previously been arrested on suspicion of DUI but later pleaded guilty to hit and run.

“Our son was killed by a repeat DUI offender who failed to stop the program,” said his mother, Jennifer Levi, in a statement on SB 907. “No family should have to experience that kind of loss and pain.”

In addition, Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D–Irvine) is pushing AB 1830, legislation that would require everyone convicted of a DUI to wear a breathalyzer that prevents their car from starting if the driver has been drinking alcohol.

“The program has slowed down and we don’t want that,” said Montalvo. “There will be many future victims, and if we don’t speak up and use our story for greater good, then who will?”