By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – A suspect has been sentenced in connection with the fatal hit-and-run crash that killed a Tucson native in Phoenix two years ago.
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On Friday, June 5, Travis Walker Smith was in court in Maricopa County for his sentencing hearing after pleading guilty to reckless manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident with death or injury.
Smith was given 15 years in prison for reckless manslaughter with 621 days credit for time served. For leaving the scene of an accident with death or injury, he was sentenced to probation for four years. The probation will begin after his release from state prison.
Smith was speeding in his pickup truck when he ran a red light near 16th Street and Camelback Road in Phoenix and crashed into Dillon Mares’ vehicle in September 2024.
The Phoenix Police Department said Smith didn’t stay at the scene but later called 911 the next day and turned himself in. However, he refused to be interviewed by detectives.
Video from the scene showed two vehicles badly damaged. One car was completely crushed on its passenger side, while a pickup truck sustained heavy damage to its front end.
At the crash scene, officers found the 29-year-old Mares seriously injured. He was later pronounced dead.
Tucson native killed in hit-and-run crash
Mares played football at Palo Verde High before transferring to Cienega High his senior year to be the team’s quarterback, quickly earning the name “Nightmare.”
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For the past few years, he has been living in Phoenix, being active in a running club and working two jobs. He was recently promoted to team lead at Castle Biosciences.
Mares’ mother, Brittany Lockwood, spoke with 13 News after his death in 2024. She said Mares would call her every Sunday, but that the phone has been silent since his passing.
“I’m gonna miss his voice, hearing him call me mom. I’m the lucky one. I feel so blessed that I was chosen to be his mom,” said Lockwood.
Lockwood spoke in court Friday during Smith’s sentencing hearing.
“There really is no justice because my son Dillon is gone,” she said. “And his killer will get out still young enough to have a full life that my son will never get to have. I’ve absolutely dreaded this moment. Never in a million years would I imagine that I would be standing here defending the life of my son — his magical life taken at the hands of someone so selfish that he thought his life mattered above all.”
During the hearing, the judge noted that Smith had a history of vehicular assault and substance abuse. But the judge also mentioned Smith’s troubled upbringing and acceptance of responsibility for the crash before rendering his decision.
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