Man convicted in fatal traffic crash that followed police pursuit from Old Town

A Wichita man will be sentenced Sept. 5 on second-degree murder and other charges connected to a traffic crash that killed a 34-year-old woman and injured her husband last year.

Javier S. Rizo Jr., 23, was convicted last week of seven counts, including the unintentional but reckless murder of Maria Martinez, aggravated battery and fleeing or attempting to elude police, according to Sedgwick County District court records. The charges arose after a van fleeing from officers in Old Town ran a stop sign at 24th and Arkansas and struck Martinez’s sedan on Oct. 27.

The impact left Martinez dead; her 39-year-old husband was among others who were hurt but survived.

A bench trial was held Thursday in Sedgwick County District Court under Judge David Dahl, court records show.

The murder conviction is not Rizo’s first. As a juvenile, he pleaded guilty to the felony murder of Gonzalo Gomez, who was killed during a robbery in 2007. As part of that plea, Rizo was sentenced to a detention facility until he was 221/2 years old, then supervised release until he turned 23.

Rizo was 22 when Martinez died.

This story was originally published August 2, 2014 at 8:49 PM with the headline "Man convicted in fatal traffic crash that followed police pursuit from Old Town."