A Cleveland woman received the maximum possible sentence of eight years in prison Thursday after pleaded guilty to striking and killing a 9-year-old girl with her car back in November.
LaCynthia A. Tidmore was driving on Babbitt Road in Euclid back on Nov. 7 when she hit De'Zyer Mays and continued on without stopping. Tidmore eventually turned herself in after being spotted at a local gas station, and Mays died from her injuries a few weeks after the accident.
Tidmore pleaded guilty last month to felony charges of aggravated vehicular homicide and failure to stop after an accident. In addition to jail time, she also had her driver's license suspended for life and will face three years probation upon her release.
Tidmore expressed remorse for her actions, telling the court, "I wish I could go back and redo it." However, De'Zyer's family greatly questioned her sincerity, claiming she didn't seem to care about what she had done in the immediate aftermath of the accident.
One of the most emotional moments came from De'Zyer's mother, Twyla Austin Williamson, who fought back tears while ripping Tidmore's behavior and pleading for the maximum sentence. She also claimed Tidmore and her friends "jumped" her in the lead-up to the sentencing.
"Why did I have to cross paths with her at all?", she said. "Why is she tormenting me like I killed her child? If you [were] paying attention, this would have never happened. Period."