Hit-and-run draws stiff penalty

The driver in a crash that killed two people pleads guilty and gets 30 years in prison.

By COLLEEN JENKINS, Times Staff Writer
Published February 9, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT Armando Lopez-Canada, 27, was here from Mexico illegally and driving with an expired license. Ronald Bishop Jr., 42, was trying to cross the Courtney Campbell Parkway to get a drink for Morrow. Joshua Angel Morrow, 4, was killed.

TAMPA - Three days after Christmas 2006, Armando Lopez-Canada hit and killed a man and a child trying to walk across the Courtney Campbell Parkway. Then he drove off.

Tracked down later, Lopez-Canada told police he ran because he was scared. He was here from Mexico illegally and driving with an expired license.

Those reasons didn't resonate with Hillsborough Circuit Judge Mark Wolfe.

On Friday, he sentenced Lopez-Canada to 30 years in prison, the maximum punishment.

"Wherever you're from," the judge said, "you should know to stop."

Florida law puts a premium on the responsibility of drivers to remain at the scene of a crash, particularly when an injured person is involved.

But not everyone receives the stiffest possible sentence.

Just last week, Wolfe approved a plea deal for a 35-year-old Land O'Lakes woman who faced one count of leaving the scene of a crash involving death. Tracie Ann Elder will serve two years of house arrest and three years of probation.

Like Lopez-Canada, she sped off after causing a fatal accident in January 2005; and as in his case, witnesses followed her, got her tag number and reported it to authorities. Like Lopez-Canada, she pleaded guilty.

Elder lost her license for one year. Lopez-Canada, 27, will permanently lose his Florida driving privileges.

Wolfe could not be reached Friday afternoon for comment.

The disparity in sentences likely resulted from a blend of the quality of legal representation, the wishes of each victim's families and the nuances of each incident, Stetson University College of Law professor Charles Rose said.

In court at Lopez-Canada's sentencing Friday, such distinctions were overshadowed by the bitter tears of two families devastated by death.

The Dec. 28, 2006, crash took the lives of 42-year-old Ronald Bishop Jr. and 4-year-old Joshua Angel Morrow. Bishop, of Largo, was a close friend of Morrow's family and had picked the young boy up from preschool that day.

They were headed home to Pinellas County from a visit in North Tampa when Bishop's truck broke down near Rocky Point. He parked it, called for help and then crossed the busy causeway with Joshua to get something to drink.

Lopez-Canada's sport utility vehicle hit them as they walked into its path in a westbound lane. The SUV slowed at first, then sped away, said prosecutor Kim Seace.

She said the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office didn't offer Lopez-Canada a plea deal because Joshua's family wanted the maximum punishment. That left his sentence up to the judge.

"Your actions broke my heart in a thousand pieces," said Angel Andujar of Clearwater, who along with his wife was raising their grandson Joshua.

"No more hugs, no more kisses," Andujar said in Spanish. "No more games with him. All I have is memories of him. Only memories."

Bishop's mother, Dolores Dininio, wondered if her son and the child would have lived had Lopez-Canada stopped and rendered them aid.

Instead, she said, "he never looked back."

The driver's brother and friends pleaded for mercy, saying Lopez-Canada had come to the United States to help support his family and had lived a life free of alcohol, drugs or fights before the accident. He had no prior criminal record in Florida, records show.

Eliezer Rangel Luna, a friend, said the man and boy shouldn't have tried to cross the busy road without the protection of a pedestrian crosswalk.

"I feel very sorry, very sorry about everything that happened," Lopez-Canada said. "I couldn't avoid it."

Colleen Jenkins can be reached at cjenkins@sptimes.com or 813 226-3337.

[Last modified February 9, 2008, 00:05:11]