NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – An 18-year-old has been sentenced for hitting and killing a man who was mowing his lawn in July 2016.
Kalaya Casey
Kalaya Casey will serve twelve years behind bars for involuntary manslaughter and hit and run, according to the victim’s family.
Casey, who had active warrants and was considered to be a runaway, had encountered police on July 29, 2016 when a person she was with was arrested.
Police say they stopped a White Ford Expedition shortly before 3:30 p.m., at the intersection of Tyner Road and Richneck Road in Newport News.
The driver, who was wanted by police, was taken into custody. During the arrest, Casey, who was hiding from police in the car, got into the driver’s seat and drove off from the scene. Police say they did not know she was inside the vehicle.
Shortly after taking off, the teen hit and killed Arnold Coates who was mowing a lawn in the 900 block of Red Oak Circle.
After the crash, the teen got out of the vehicle and ran to someone in the area to use their phone. She then called a relative who told her to turn herself in to police, which she did.
Members of the Newport News fire department finished mowing the lawn for the family of the man who was killed.
Coates’ family members tell News 3 that they feel justice has been served. They say they hope that this will be a lesson for Casey and pray that she will be able to turn her life around once she is released.
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