Judge gives teen five years for fatal hit-and-run incident

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A teenage boy who ran over and killed a woman after she confronted him for hot-rodding on a city street has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Frederico Cantu, 17, pleaded guilty in March to involuntary manslaughter and fleeing the scene of a June accident in the death of Bee Etta Harkins, 49. Jackson County Circuit Judge Charles E. Atwell sentenced Cantu Wednesday to five years on the manslaughter charge and three years for fleeing the scene. The sentences will run concurrently.

At the sentencing hearing, Cantu said he panicked and fled the scene without trying to help Harkins.

"It just happened real fast," he said. "I was scared and panicked and I didn't know what to do."

Harkins had been visiting at the home of her son and his family when she saw a car hot-rodding around the block. When she confronted the driver, she ended up on the hood of the car and was run over. She later died at a hospital.

Cantu, who was 16 at the time of the accident, originally had been charged as a juvenile with first-degree murder. He was later certified to be tried as an adult.

Charges changed

After conflicting witness reports, prosecutors decided manslaughter charges were appropriate.

Cantu faced up to seven years on the manslaughter charge and five years for fleeing the scene. Defense attorney Kimberly Gale asked for probation, while special prosecutor Mark Komoroski wanted prison time.

Atwell described the death as a horrible and tragic event. But he said the conflicting accounts of the accident -- one that Cantu deliberately ran over Harkins and another that the teen's recklessness caused the accident after Harkins stood in front of the car -- made a sentencing decision difficult.