21-Year-Old Man Gets Probation, $7,500 To Family In Hit-And-Run That Killed Boy, 5
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Authorities said a 21-year-old man was sentenced Thursday for a hit-and-run accident that killed a 5-year-old boy last year.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced that Homer Watford of Los Angeles would also pay restitution to the boy's family in the amount of $7,500.
LA County Superior Court Judge Mildred Escobedo sentenced Watford to 365 days in jail as time served and three years of probation under an open plea to the court.
Watford pleaded no contest on Nov. 15, 2017, over the objections of the prosecution, to one felony count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death to another person and one misdemeanor count of driving when privilege suspended or revoked after a prior offense.
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The defendant ran over the boy -- identified as Ron Neal -- in front of the child's residence in South Los Angeles on March 14, 2017 and continued driving without rendering aid. Watford turned himself in to police the following day.
Investigators said Watford knew the boy's family and went to them to apologize before turning himself in. Watford was friends with the family for more than a decade -- he said at the time of his arrest that he thought he hit a dog.
The boy's heartbroken mother said at the time her son "loved" Watford.