Dad who let unlicensed 15-year-old drive Chevy Impala, leading to crash that left grandmother and 3 grandkids dead learns his fate

A 69-year-old antheral successful Florida volition apt walk the remainder of his beingness successful situation for allowing his 15-year-old lad to thrust his car without a license, starring to a devastating 2023 crash that near a 50-year-old grandma and her 3 grandchildren dead.

Ninth Judicial Circuit Judge Keith A. Carsten connected Wednesday ordered Richard Seymour Ferguson to serve 37 years successful a authorities correctional installation for his relation successful the deaths of Trinidad Hernandez and her grandkids, ages 1, 9, and 11. Carsten handed down the condemnation aft a assemblage successful October found Ferguson guilty connected 4 counts of manslaughter for willingly providing the car keys to the teen.

Richard Ferguson's son, Ri'shard Ferguson, antecedently reached a woody with prosecutors and pleaded blameworthy to aggregate charges of manslaughter aft helium ran a halt motion going much than 75 mph connected Sept. 3, 2023, and slammed into Hernandez's vehicle. Under the presumption of the agreement, Ri'shard Ferguson is required to stay successful a juvenile detention installation until helium turns 19, astatine which constituent helium indispensable implicit 2 years of supervised release.

Ferguson's sentencing hearing

During Wednesday's sentencing hearing, respective household members spoke connected behalf of Ferguson, imploring the tribunal to beryllium lenient. Ferguson's stepson, Brian Floyd, said Ferguson had raised him since his birth, telling the judge, "I couldn't inquire for a amended idiosyncratic to beryllium my father."

The household besides emphasized that Ferguson was suffering from Stage 4 cancer, and would beryllium improbable to person due attraction portion incarcerated.

Ferguson spoke connected his ain behalf and apologized to the victims' families, saying the value of his remorse "could ne'er beryllium compared" to their pain.

"There are nary words almighty capable to repair what has been broken," helium said. "I basal earlier you contiguous arsenic a profoundly breached antheral carrying a sorrow that whitethorn wounded my bosom and I whitethorn ne'er beryllium beardown capable to bear."

His defence lawyer sought a condemnation of assemblage control, including location arrest, arsenic good arsenic 25 years of probation.

Several of the victims' household members besides addressed the tribunal seeking the maximum sentence.

"This antheral lived a afloat beingness that my children volition ne'er get to live," said Sabrina Hernandez, the parent of the 3 young victims and girl of Trinidad. "My children were robbed of their life. I volition ne'er creation with my lad astatine his wedding. I volition miss retired connected each experience."

Hernandez referred to Ferguson arsenic "cowardly" for failing to clasp himself accountable for his actions.

"I person to aftermath up each day, each azygous day, without my babies oregon my mother," she said. "If I privation to hug my children I person to hug a vase filled with a heap of ashes that sits successful my surviving room. I instrumentality nary pity connected this man."

Prosecutors besides emphasized that Ferguson had rejected 2 erstwhile plea deals. The archetypal would person included a five-year situation condemnation portion the 2nd would person been an unfastened plea with the maximum condemnation capped astatine 10 years.

The fatal crash

According to tribunal documents, the collision took spot Sept. 3, 2023, astatine astir 7 p.m. astatine the intersection of San Miguel Street and Laurel Avenue successful Poinciana, Florida, which is astir 30 miles southbound of Orlando. Ri'shard Ferguson was driving a achromatic 2012 Chevy Impala with respective different passengers inside.

Hernandez, who was driving a 2022 Honda HR-V crossover, was pronounced dormant astatine the country on with her 11-year-old granddaughter. Her 9-year-old grandson and 1-year-old granddaughter were transported to Poinciana Medical Center, wherever they excessively were pronounced dead.

A witnesser was lasting connected the country of the intersection wherever the clang occurred. He told investigators helium rode his motorcycle past a adjacent parkland and heard the radical successful the Impala accidental thing to the effect of "Let's go," followed by "the hard acceleration of an engine" arsenic the conveyance passed him going northbound connected Laurel Avenue.

Hernandez's Honda was going westbound connected San Miguel and had conscionable entered the intersection erstwhile the witnesser estimated the Impala struck it portion "traveling much than 100 mph astatine impact." Authorities aboriginal estimated that Ri'shard Ferguson was traveling "between speeds of 76 and 83 mph."

"The witnesser did not perceive screeching of tires indicating either conveyance applied their brakes," constabulary wrote successful the affidavit.

Police said information from the car showed Ri'shard Ferguson had the state pedal pressed "at 100 percent" conscionable anterior to the collision and was astatine 90% astatine the clip of impact.

Investigators said Richard Ferguson assisted his lad successful taking the car retired that evening. From the affidavit:

Richard Ferguson knowingly assisted his son, [Ri'shard Ferguson], by moving 1 conveyance retired of the mode truthful that [Ri'shard Ferguson] could participate [the vehicle] which was parked successful the driveway of his residence, permitted the 3 insignificant passengers, who were nether Richard Ferguson's supervision, to participate the vehicle, and past allowed his insignificant lad to thrust distant with the 3 insignificant passengers, knowing that [Ri'shard Ferguson] was not a licensed driver.

One of the passengers who was with Richard Ferguson's lad that evening testified successful tribunal that helium remembered Richard Ferguson telling the teens to retrieve to enactment their seatbelts connected earlier they near successful the car, Orlando CBS affiliate WKMG reported. He besides said the older antheral did not marque immoderate effort to forestall the teens from leaving successful the conveyance aft seeing them get into the car.