Entitled Egyptian drunk driver who killed innocent man tells court why he shouldn’t face maximum sentence

An Egyptian man who killed an Army veteran in a drunk driving crash claimed he should not face the maximum sentence because jail time would trigger his PTSD from the Arab Spring.

Amr Elzagh, 44, was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and driving under the influence of intoxicants for the deadly January 2, 2022, collision.

Elzagh was driving on the wrong side of Interstate 5 in Portland when he crashed head-first into 34-year-old Salvador Manuel Rodriguez-Lopez.

Rodriguez-Lopez was a veteran who served in the Army for seven years and was a father to three young children, according to KPTV.

He had just celebrated his birthday the week before he was killed and dreamed of opening a flower shop.

On Friday, Elzagh’s lawyers pleaded with Judge Bryan Francesconi to impose the minimum sentence, claiming prison time would trigger his post-traumatic stress disorder, reported The Oregonian.

Elzagh was jailed in Egypt’s notorious Tora prison for 20 months during the Arab Spring protests in 2012.

While Francesconi acknowledged that jail time would be ‘significantly harder’ for Elzagh, he sentenced him to the maximum punishment of two and a half years. 

Amr Elzagh (pictured), 44, was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and driving under the influence of intoxicants for the deadly January 2, 2022, collision

Elzagh was driving on the wrong side of Interstate 5 in Portland when he crashed head-first into 34-year-old Salvador Manuel Rodriguez-Lopez (pictured)

The judge cited Elzagh’s decision to drive while intoxicated despite going through a prior DUII (Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants) diversion program in 2015, according to the outlet.

‘There’s no part of me that’s happy to be putting you in custody,’ Francesconi said. ‘But when somebody dies, there has to be consequences.’

Elzagh was acquitted of second-degree manslaughter and reckless driving but was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and driving under the influence of intoxicants in April.

Portland police said Elzagh was recovering from COVID-19 when he left his apartment at about 6pm on the night of the crash and went out to pick up packages at his office in Vancouver.

Then he went to the Casa Diablo strip club in Northwest Portland to drop off COVID tests for the dancers.

Elzagh’s defense attorney claimed that he accidentally took sleeping pills while entering the club rather than the stimulant and antidepressant pills he had meant to consume, causing him to black out.

Prosecutors said that Elzagh drank enough at the club to register a blood alcohol level above 0.2 percent – the legal limit in Oregon is 0.008 percent.

Elzagh was driving on the wrong side of the road in his Jaguar sedan when he crashed into Rodriguez-Lopez’s sedan near South Macadam Avenue around 11:30pm that night, killing him on impact.

Elzagh was driving on the wrong side of the road in his Jaguar sedan when he crashed into Rodriguez-Lopez’s sedan near South Macadam Avenue

‘You said it was a mistake, an accident, but these three kids will always be my reminder of your negligence,’ Rodriguez-Lopez’s ex-wife, Claudia, said in court.

‘I hope you remember my kids’ faces and their names and use that memory to be a better human being.’

Elzagh apologized to Rodriguez-Lopez’s family at his sentencing hearing.

‘I know that my words are just words, but I do sincerely hope that he is in a better place than all of us right now,’ Elzagh said. ‘If I could take it all back, I would do it in a heartbeat.’