Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Clayton Deneal Wamsley, 20, has been sentenced to 10 years in state prison followed by two years of probation after pleading nolo contendere to vehicular homicide in the January 2025 death of Matthew Umanos.
According to the Gainesville Police Department investigation, the crash happened at about 5:41 p.m. on January 2, 2025. Investigators found that Wamsley was driving north on NE 7th Street when he ran the stop sign at NE 16th Avenue and struck Umanos, who was crossing NE 7th Street in a marked crosswalk. Umanos was thrown approximately 124 feet before landing and hitting a cement culvert. He was taken to UF Health Shands, where he died a short time later. Umanos’s dog was also struck and killed.
When officers arrived, Wamsley was still trapped inside his vehicle. A license check showed that he had an identification card but had never been issued a driver’s license.
After being read his Miranda rights, Wamsley reportedly told investigators he had been upset at home and thinking about harming himself before deciding to drive around the block from his residence on NE 6th Terrace. He said he was traveling north on NE 7th Street when he received a text message, picked up his phone from the dashboard, and began reading it. Wamsley said he looked up as he passed the stop sign, saw Umanos, and swerved left in an attempt to avoid hitting him. He also said he was sorry.
In a victim impact statement, Umanos’s mother described her son as deeply involved in the community. She wrote that he worked for GACAR, served with a charity focused on helping people find affordable housing, spoke with local officials about community issues, and “brought joy to all who met him.” She also wrote that Umanos’s brother, who had been visiting from New York City and was walking with him at the time of the crash, suffered a stroke eight days later and now lives with their mother.
On July 14, Wamsley entered a plea of nolo contendere to vehicular homicide and driving without a valid driver’s license. A separate charge of careless operation of a motor vehicle with no license, resulting in death, was dropped. The plea document stated that the charges carried a maximum possible sentence of more than 24 years in prison.
Judge Robert Groeb sentenced Wamsley to 10 years in state prison, with credit for 525 days already served, followed by two years of probation on the vehicular homicide charge. For driving without a valid license, Wamsley received a 60-day jail sentence with credit for 60 days served.
Other conditions include restitution of $25,000 to an insurance company; following any treatment recommended after a drug, alcohol, and mental health evaluation; abstaining from alcohol and illegal drugs; random urine testing; and a permanent suspension of his driver’s license.
