‘Horrific tragedy.’ Driver sentenced in fatal Manatee crash after speeding at 120 mph
A driver has been sentenced to prison for a high-speed crash in Manatee County that killed a teenage passenger and seriously injured two others in 2020.
Luke Terrence Politi, 21, of Apopka, was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to vehicular homicide and reckless driving, the State Attorney’s Office announced Friday. Prosecutors said Politi, who was 17 at the time, was driving at over 120 mph with alcohol in his system when he lost control of a Tesla, causing a crash that killed a 16-year-old.
The charges carried a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison, according to a news release.
Politi was scheduled to go to trial in November but instead entered an open plea just before jury selection was set to begin, the State Attorney’s Office said.
Investigators say Politi veered off the road while speeding on University Parkway on Dec. 4, 2020. The Tesla he was driving struck a culvert, went airborne and hit a light pole with enough force that the pole snapped in half. The car rolled several times before resting upside down near a retention pond, prosecutors said.
Two backseat passengers, ages 15 and 16, were ejected from the Tesla and suffered “devastating injuries,” according to a news release. Prosecutors say a 16-year-old front passenger was killed in the crash.
Video surveillance footage from a nearby business captured the crash and data from the Tesla’s Event Data Recorder showed the vehicle was traveling at 126 mph moments before impact, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors say tests revealed the presence of alcohol in Politi’s system.
During the Jan. 22 sentencing hearing at the Manatee County Courthouse, prosecutors say the court heard testimony from Politi, his family and friends, as well as from the families of the victims. Judge Matt Whyte denied requests from Politi’s defense for a reduced sentence as a youth offender and rejected arguments for a downward departure, a legal mechanism that allows judges to impose sentences below the state’s minimum guidelines in certain circumstances.
“After four years I am delighted that the two surviving victims, all three victims’ families and friends and their community were finally able to receive justice,” said Assistant State Attorney Annie Ebert in a statement provided to the Bradenton Herald. “It was heartwarming to see many family members and friends of all three victims come together and provide the court with testimony and support each other during this difficult time.”
“The two surviving victims and the deceased victim’s family now have closure to this horrific tragedy,” Ebert added.
