Tampa teen charged in fatal hit-and-run may avoid jail

Thursday, July 9, 2009

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Jordan Valdez was charged as an adult in the February hit-and-run that killed 33-year-old Melissa Sjostrom. Watch the story Watch Video

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- The teenager investigators believe was at the wheel of a car that struck and killed a Tampa homeless woman is being charged as an adult in the crash.

Jordan Valdez, 17, is charged with one count of leaving the scene of an accident with a death.

The Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office filed the charge late Wednesday. Valdez later turned herself in.

She appeared calm as she walked into the criminal registration unit to face the charge against her but her attorney, Ty Trayner, says she's been very emotional since the incident.

"She cries a lot," he said. "She's very remorseful. If she had it to do over again obviously it would have been a very different situation."

Trayner says, however, she should be charged as a juvenile.

"Because she is a juvenile," he said. "Her maturity level, her worldly sense. I mean she's a kid."

The accident happened on February 8 when a Nissan Murano that officials said usually is driven by Valdez hit 33-year-old Melissa Sjostrom as she tried to cross Hyde Park Avenue near the Davis Islands bridge. Sjostrom died from her injuries.

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According to Tampa Police, paint chips from the Murano and electronic Sun Pass toll records connect the vehicle to the crime.

If found guilty, Valdez could be sentenced to a maximum of 30 years in prison.

However, Trayner says the case will not make it to trial. He says prosecutors are working on a plea agreement that involves probation, not prison time.

The state attorney's office declined to comment on the case other than to say Valdez was charged as an adult based on the nature of the crime.

Police originally issued Valdez a citation for careless driving for her role in the accident but a judge dismissed the citation when the detective who issued it failed to appear in court to testify in the case.

Prosecutors later decided to charge Valdez with a crime.

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