Bradenton man sentenced after high-speed crash kills 71-year-old, FHP says
A Bradenton man is set to spend the next two decades in prison for a 2024 crash on U.S. 301 that killed a 71-year-old woman and injured several others, according to court records.
A judge sentenced 38-year-old Aramis Jerome Harrison to 20 years in state prison after prosecutors said he sped through a red light after fleeing an attempted traffic stop earlier that afternoon, causing a multi-vehicle crash that killed Carolyn Annette Willis of Bradenton.
Troopers said officers did not pursue him because of agency policy, and no law enforcement was chasing him at the time of the crash.
Harrison’s sentence, handed down Wednesday by Sarasota County Judge Dana Moss, came after he pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide, fleeing police and multiple counts of reckless driving, court records show.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the crash happened in April 2024, after Harrison drove a Nissan Rogue south on U.S. 301 at high speed as he approached a red light at Northgate Boulevard. He ran the red light and hit the left side of an SUV, according to an arrest report.
The impact caused the Nissan to overturn and hit a vehicle that was stopped on northbound U.S. 301, investigators said. Troopers said that car was pushed into another before Harrison’s car struck a fifth vehicle. In all, five vehicles were involved, and all other drivers and passengers were injured, according to FHP.
Willis, who was riding in the SUV that Harrison first crashed into, died at the scene, troopers said.
Bradenton man sentenced after high-speed crash
Investigators wrote in an arrest report that Harrison had been driving more than 90 miles per hour in a 50 mph zone as he approached the intersection.
An arrest report says a Bradenton police officer tried to pull Harrison over that afternoon in an unmarked vehicle with lights and sirens activated. The attempted stop was tied to a January firearm-related case, when officers said they responded to a reported fight with a gunshot at the Salvation Army on 14th Street West.
BPD did not pursue because of agency policy, and video later showed the Nissan speeding recklessly with no law enforcement in pursuit, according to the report. Prosecutors later dropped the January charges, according to court records.
Many police agencies nationwide have tightened pursuit policies in recent years, citing research showing that high-speed chases kill hundreds of people annually, including many uninvolved bystanders, according to the National Institute of Justice. However, not all agencies have moved in the same direction. Some states, including Florida, have recently relaxed certain pursuit limits, with the Florida Highway Patrol giving its troopers more discretion to begin a vehicle chase.
Troopers arrested Harrison in May 2024, with prosecutors initially filing a second-degree murder count before the State Attorney’s Office later dropped that charge at sentencing, according to court records.
