MIAMI (WSVN) - It was sentencing day for the woman convicted in the crash that killed a University of Miami student in Coral Gables, and the victim’s family said justice has not been served.
Veronica Bilbao de la Vega kept her eyes down and appeared to hold back tears during Thursday’s sentencing hearing. The 38-year-old was found guilty in the March 4, 2024 crash that claimed the life of Daniel “Danny” Bishop.
Investigators said the 22-year-old student was struck as he was riding a scooter across a crosswalk near LeJeune Road and Altara Avenue.
Police said Daniel was hit by a black Cadillac Escalade driven by Bilbao de la Vega. She remained at the scene of the crash.
Bilbao de la Vega was ticketed for not yielding to a pedestrian and for having a driver’s license that expired in 2020.
Police told the judge that Bilbao de la Vega told them she checked oncoming traffic to her right as she made a left turn and did not see anyone in the crosswalk.
Bishop’s parents, Susan and Jason Bishop, spoke in court duting the sentencing.
“How can a lawyer, a mother, a community member drive knowingly with an expired license, not be careful when watching the road in front of her, and killing an innocent pedestrian on a crosswalk?” said Susan. “There’s no way to enact any real justice, and the punishment will never fit the crime.”
“It’s terrible to live like this, on and on,” said Jason as he broke down in tears.
“There is simply no way to described the depth of this loss,” said Susan.
7News learned in court that Bilbao de la Vega is an attorney who has worked more than a decade as a public defender on Miami-Dade County. She did not speak in court Thursday.
Bishop’s family wanted Bilbao de la Vega to serve jail time, but that is not going to happen. She was sentenced to six months probation and 500 hours of community service.
Attorney Robert Boyers, who is representing the Bishop family, said he will file a civil lawsuit against Bilbao de la Vega on behalf of the family very soon.
“Criminal law has limitations in therms of holding negligent parties accountable, even when that negligence resulted in catastrophic loss,” he said. “The prosecutors’ hands were tied, but ours are not, and we intend to hold the defendant fully accountable in the civil justice system.”
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