Mom Held Accountable for Unlicensed Teen’s Fatal Accident
In 2007, Lesa Ledesma handed the keys to her car to her 15-year-old son Shawn Ledesma, at the time an unlicensed driver, and gave him permission to drive her car. This decision led to the death of 14-year-old Raquel Carreras when she was ejected from the vehicle Shawn was driving after he lost control, flipped the car, and struck a tree. Since Raquel Carreras was killed as a result of the crash, Shawn was charged and pled guilty to vehicular homicide.
However, since the chain of events started when Shawn’s mom gave him permission to drive, the St. Petersburg Times is reporting that Lesa Ledesma was charged and pled guilty to manslaughter. She will serve 30 days in jail, five years probation of which two will be on house arrest, pay $5,000 restitution to Raquel’s family for funeral costs, and will write a letter of apology to Raquel’s family.
The St. Petersburg Times further reports that Lesa Ledesma is believed to be the first parent being held accountable for allowing their unlicensed child to drive.
AOL News quoted Ledesma’s attorney as stating,
This was a tragedy. She’s truly sorry for her part in it. If she could take back her actions of giving her keys to (her son), she would do it.
More coverage on this story can be found at Tampa Bay Online.
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Tags: aol news, carreras, charged, death, driver, guilty, killed, ledesma, lesa, manslaughter, raquel, shawn, st. petersburg times, teen, unlicensed, vehicular homicide
