Timoteo Gabriel DeJesus, of Plant City, has been sentenced to 15 years in state prison after accepting a plea agreement in connection with a hit-and-run crash that killed one teenager and left another seriously injured earlier this year.
According to Plant City Police Department reports, at about 7:40 p.m. Jan. 22, officers responded to the area of Turkey Creek Road about one-half mile north of State Road 574 in reference to two juveniles who were struck by a vehicle.
When officers arrived, they found 16 year-old Brandon Sullivan deceased.
Fifteen-year-old Erick Gonzalez, who was picked up by a passerby, was not at the scene when officers arrived. He had been taken to South Florida Baptist Hospital with a broken leg.
Investigators said Sullivan and Gonzalez were walking southbound along the west side of Turkey Creek Road when they were struck by a 1995 Lincoln Town Car, driven by DeJesus. The teens were walking to the convenience store at Turkey Creek Road and State Road 574 and had just left Sullivan’s home prior to being struck. After the crash, DeJesus fled the scene and eluded police for more than 24 hours.
DeJesus was subsequently located and taken into custody Jan. 23, after a Plant City Police K-9 found him hiding in a pile of debris at his place of employment.
DeJesus was charged with leaving the scene of a traffic crash involving death, leaving the scene of a crash involving serious injury, and driving without a driver’s license resulting in death. DeJesus pleaded guilty to those charges Oct. 29.
In addition to his 15-year sentence, Dejesus will serve five years probation and will be deported from the United States as part of the agreement with the state.
