NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) - A 23-year-old Massachusetts woman has been sentenced to 14 to 16 years in state prison after causing a fatal car crash in New Bedford last year and then fleeing the scene, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Jennaya Elsa Bennett-Werra, of South Easton, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, reckless motor vehicle homicide, leaving the scene of a fatal crash, and other charges in Fall River Superior Court on Friday.
Bennett-Werra also admitted to violating her probation and parole on a 2016 attempted robbery conviction because of the new offenses, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III said.
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Prosecutors said that on Mar. 27, 2019, Bennett-Werra had been speeding in a 30 mile per hour zone when she failed to stop at a stop sign and struck another vehicle, sending it careening into a light pole and then a metal fence.
The occupants of the other car were rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.
Janet Murphy-Hebert died in the emergency room. Her son, Kyle Murphy, suffered 14 broken ribs, lacerations on his lung and liver, and other injuries.
Prosecutors said Bennett-Werra was asked to remain on the scene while the responding officer tended to the victims, but instead fled on foot and later called an Uber.
She was arrested a few days later in Rhode Island.
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