A driver was sentenced to one year in jail on Friday after pleading guilty to hitting a woman and driving away in 2022 in Wheaton, Maryland.
Luz Roa was the victim. She was 59.
Tyreke Jones pleaded guilty to the crash that occurred Jan. 17, 2022. Roa got off a bus, tried to cross Veirs Mill Road at Ferrara Avenue and was hit.
Surveillance footage shows what prosecutors say Jones did that night. He stopped at the crash scene for a few seconds, got out, looked around, turned off his lights and drove away.
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Before handing down her sentence, Judge Bibi Berry looked at Jones and said she thought he’s a good person who made a mistake. She said she saw photos of his damaged car and that they were shocking. The judge said she didn’t believe his story that he thought he had hit an animal. He needed to be punished, she said.
Roa’s sister, Elsa Roa, called the details excruciating.
“It makes it even more painful to know what he said, that he thought he hit a dog. Well, she was 172 pounds. I have never seen a dog that big. And then she was thrown 72 feet away. That was bad. That was horrendous,” she said.
Photos of the Volkswagen Passat that Jones was driving that night show heavy damage.
Montgomery County police held a news conference after Roa’s death. A tip came in that told investigators where to find the car.
Before learning his sentence, Jones stood up, looked Elsa Roa in the eye and said he was sorry. He was tearful at times during the hearing but never explained why he left the scene.
“I’m not sure if I could trust his sincerity because he lied from the very beginning,” Elsa Roa said.
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Roa could not have children and so she worked as a caregiver. She did not drive and took the bus everywhere.
Elsa Roa said she still can’t believe her sister is gone.
“Her life was very, very hard but she kept on going,” she said. “Her faith was what she called on. She held on and she dedicated her life to help others.”
