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Shockingly-entitled and unrepentant courtroom outburst of killer hit-and-run EV driver, 77, as she's handed very light sentence

1 month ago 27

By Germania Rodriguez Poleo, Chief U.S. Reporter For Dailymail.Com

Published: 13:14 BST, 30 July 2024 | Updated: 15:58 BST, 30 July 2024

A 77-year-old woman who killed a pedestrian with her car appeared to suggest she was the victim as she was sentenced to a year in custody and two years probation.

Donna Jacobs pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter after she fatally struck 42-year-old Stephen Debow and left the scene last November in San Diego.

Debow died six days after he was hit by Jacobs' Hyundai Ioniq EV as he crossed an unmarked crosswalk. Jacobs' car kept driving for about 65 feet while Debow was atop the hood. 

But Jacobs struck a completely unrepentant tone during sentencing Monday.

She claimed in court that she never saw Debow and that she thought she was being attacked when her windshield was smashed, as reported by NBC San Diego.

'I saw no one, I heard no one anywhere around,' she told the court. 'I thought I was being attacked.'

Donna Jacobs pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter after she fatally struck 42-year-old Stephen Debow and left the scene last November in San Diego

Debow died six days after he was hit by Jacobs' Hyundai Ioniq as he crossed an unmarked crosswalk

Jacobs said she panicked and drove home and did not call police because she had no 'useful' information to provide as she did not see her 'attacker.'

'If I had known I'd hit a human being, I would have done something about it,' Jacobs added.

Prosecutors said in court that Jacobs drove home after striking Debow, called her insurance and provided a false statement about the crash. 

Jacobs also took her car to a body shop to attempt to conceal her involvement in the hit-and-run, a judge heard. 

Debow's friends were in court to speak before Jacobs' sentencing and excoriated her for leaving the scene of the crash

Jacobs claimed in court that she never saw Debow and that she thought she was being attacked when her windshield was smashed

It took police several weeks to identify Jacobs as the driver who struck Debow. 

Jacobs will likely spend her time in custody in house arrest due to her age and lack of criminal history. 

While the cause of the crash remains unknown, prosecutors said Jacobs received an Instacart message around the time of the collision. 

Debow's friends were in court to speak before Jacobs' sentencing and excoriated her for leaving the scene of the crash.

'If you did the right thing, I would have forgiven you. But you chose to run from responsibility,' said Michael Berardi.

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