A man was convicted of killing a woman and gravely injuring her brother in a hit-and-run collision caused by street-racing in Willowbrook earlier this year, prosecutors said Thursday.
Tyree Coleman, 20, pleaded no contest Wednesday to vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run driving in the crash that left 23-year-old Compton resident Bethany Holguin dead, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The defendant was immediately sentenced to seven years in state prison, officials said.
The night of May 11, Coleman allegedly blew through a stop sign while racing another vehicle down 131st Street.
His vehicle slammed into the car carrying Holguin and her 20-year-old brother, Emilio Holguin, in the intersection at Towne Avenue. The violent impact was captured on surveillance.
Emilio Holguin was taken to the hospital in critical condition, while his older sister died at the scene.
Bethany Holguin had a 6-year-old daughter she was raising alone while working toward a nursing degree, her family said.
Coleman’s vehicle was badly damaged and disabled, but he was able to flee the scene in the car he had been racing, prosecutors said.
It’s unclear whether the second car’s driver was ever caught. Authorities had never announced Coleman’s arrest, and the first news of him being charged came after he pleaded no contest this week.