TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A young driver will be sentenced Thursday for a street racing crash that killed a 24-year-old mother and her 1-year-old daughter on Bayshore Boulevard in 2018.
Witnesses, including family members, friends and a forensic psychiatrist, began testifying Thursday morning in the sentencing hearing for 21-year-old Cameron Herrin who pleaded guilty in December to vehicular homicide and unlawful racing on a highway.
Herrin faces up to 30 years in prison for hitting and killing Jessica Reisinger-Raubenolt and her daughter, Lillia. Prosecutors recommend he serve half that time.
Authorities said Herrin was racing along Bayshore at more than 100 miles per hour in a Mustang when he hit the mother as she was pushing her child a stroller. Herrin was 18 at the time.
The crash sparked outcry from the community, and led to changes on Bayshore Boulevard, including more stoplights and a lower speed limit.
On Thursday morning, Herrin’s defense attorney asked a judge to consider his client’s age and called witnesses to speak on Herrin’s character.
“I’m certain of it, he will be spending the rest of his days trying to do good and some sort of penance for the horror that has become the loss of life,” Keith Aeshbach, Herrin’s former teacher told the judge.
John Barrineau, the other driver involved in the crash, pleaded guilty for his role, and was sentenced to six years in prison. Barrineau was 17 when the crash occurred.
Herrin’s lawyers are hoping a $6 million civil settlement with the victim’s family and Barrineau’s six-year sentence will factor into their client’s fate.
This story is developing and will be updated.
