The family of a woman fatally struck in a hit-and-run incident in Miami Gardens, Florida, is outraged after the driver involved failed to express remorse in court.
On Tuesday, Sharon Cox, aged 65, received her sentence following a guilty plea for her involvement in the 2023 hit-and-run that claimed the life of Patricia Garner and injured two others, as reported by NBC 6. Initially facing a lighter sentence, Cox was handed a four-year prison term after persistent advocacy from Garner’s family led to a reevaluation of the earlier plea deal.
Prosecutors detailed that Cox collided with three individuals in the parking lot of a Miami Gardens community center, subsequently fleeing the scene. She faced charges for leaving the site of an accident that resulted in serious injuries.
During the sentencing hearing, Cox did not offer an apology to Garner’s grieving family.
Sharon Cox faced sentencing after the deadly hit-and-run incident. (Miami-Dade County)
“Ms. Cox didn’t even stand up and say that she was sorry,” expressed Sandra Welch, Garner’s sister-in-law. “She didn’t say one word.”
According to the report, prosecutors initially offered Cox a plea deal that would have put her in jail for one year. The family was vocal in their disagreement over the plea deal and wanted jail time, resulting in prosecutors rescinding their initial offer.
The new plea deal includes four years in prison for Cox, which Garner’s family still doesn’t think is enough.
View of the downtown Miami skyline from the Miami South Channel on April 5, 2021, in Miami, Florida. (AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
“We miss her, and we will always miss her,” said Allie Mobley, Garner’s sister. “But to get only the amount of time she got for killing her, it hurts.”
Following her four-year prison sentence, under the plea agreement, Cox will serve two years of her probation, must go to traffic school and complete 100 hours of community service. Her driver’s license has also been taken away for five years.
The hit-and-run happened in Miami Gardens, Florida, in 2023. (Miami Gardens Police Department)
Andrew Rier, Cox’s attorney, told NBC 6: “The case was resolved to an appropriate resolution where none of the parties involved were fully satisfied. This was a tough case, a tragic accident, and we hope this finality can bring closure to the victim’s family.”
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office said the sentence represents what the law allows.
“For every family member in every criminal case, the pain of victimization always cuts deep,” the office said, according to NBC 6. “We understand that though this resolution is what the law allows in this case and had been accepted by the victim’s family, no sentence can ever lessen the loss of a loved one. Our hope is that now they can begin their grieving process and find peace.”
