KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A KCK woman convicted of plowing her car into a group of teenagers, killing one of them, was sentenced to 64 months in prison on Wednesday.
Tamika Pledger, 41, was found guilty back in May in Wyandotte County Court of one count of involuntary manslaughter and four counts of reckless aggravated battery for hitting those four teenagers with her car in the 1300 block of Troup Avenue.
Pledger reportedly sought bond appeal and probation. Both were denied.
Pledger’s sentence to spend more than 5 years behind bars comes after a lengthy court battle, dating back to an incident that happened more than two and a half years ago.
Witnesses told police the four teens were among a bigger group of students who had gathered near the street to watch a fight that reportedly involved Pledger’s niece on the afternoon of Jan. 30, 2015. Pledger said she was on her way to break up the fight when she crashed into the teens.
The victims included 16-year-old Tierra Smith, who was killed, a then-17-year-old boy who suffered a broken leg; Essence Robinson, who was 16-years old at the time, and Robinson’s then 14-year-old sister, Brandi Glover.
Police estimate Pledger was driving at least 55 mph in a 20 mph zone when her silver Mercedes Benz slammed into the four teens.
Pledger has been outspoken about the charges against her and written letters and filed motions to get the charges dropped. She faced additional trouble and jail time after the Wyandotte County Prosecutor’s Office played a phone conversation Pledger had with a friend. Prosecutors said that despite being ordered to have no contact with the teens she’s accused of hitting, Pledger tried to convince them to advocate that charges against her be dropped.
“What I really want to do is, if I don’t get out of here, I need you guys to go on the Plan B, Plan C. My Plan B and C is to get with the family and the media… all you guys together and say, ‘We will not press charges on her. We know it was an accident. We don’t know why she’s still in there. We’re asking for them to drop the charges and let her go.'”
Months after the crash, Pledger held a news conference where she offered condolences to 17-year-old Tierra Smith’s family. She was sentenced to six days in jail for contempt.