FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A 19-year-old has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and 10 years probation and 10 years of a revoked license after pleading guilty after driving a car involved in a pursuit that led to a fatal crash which killed a woman in 2022.
The court was shown aerial video from a Broward Sheriff’s Office helicopter footage of two people running away, alongside bodycam video of the aftermath of the crash.
Jah’Kobe Bessent, who was 15 at the time, was arrested for causing the fatal crash and fleeing from the scene.
The 2022 incident killed 35-year-old Maria Tellez-Valderrabano. She left behind three children.
Two of Tellez-Valderrabano’s children shared years of the pain they’ve endured during Friday’s hearing.
“Not a thought, not a dream, not a single day where my mom was in the back of my mind. I just want this to end. I want this to go away, but I can’t,” said Michael Tellez Féria, the victim’s son.
Jah’Kobe pled guilty for his role in causing the fatal crash, testifying before the court to share his remorse for his actions.
“I stand before you to accept responsibility and express my deep remorse and ask you to consider the person I’ve become and continue to become,” said Bessent.
His stepmother, Nicole Bessent, also expressed her regrets.
“I just wanted to just say as the family, and I’m sure we all feel the same way, I’m really sorry for the loss of life in this situation. I’m really sorry,” she said.
Tellez-Valderrabano’s said no apology would make up for their loss or ease their pain.
“No amount of words can describe how it feels on losing my mom. In just one single day, in one single moment, everything changed,” said Samantha Cruz, the victim’s daughter.
“Every time I close my eyes, I dreamed about my mom. For a few precious moments in those dreams, she was alive, she spoke, she smiled, everything felt normal again. Then I wake up, and I have to lose her all over again. Night after night, again and again, again, and again,” said Tellez Féria.
The crash happened after Bessent and another boy broke into a home in the middle of the night to steal two cars.
The pair ditched one car and led police on a high-speed pursuit that later ended in Tellez-Valderrabano’s death.
Jah’Kobe will serve 10 years of prison along with 10 years probation. Upon finishing his sentence, he will also have his license revoked for 10 years.
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