ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A woman's plea deal in the hit-and-run crash that killed a UCF graduate doesn't sit well with friends of the victim.
The people who loved Warren Cohen described him as one of the happiest people they knew.
They describe the University of Central Florida graduate as being full of soul.
Friends said music was his passion – something he played day and night.
Orlando police say that it was a hit-and-run driver who ended Cohen's life.
Witnesses said Cohen was killed while trying to cross Kirkman Road. They said he was hit by a driver who left the scene.
Police quickly found and arrested Rose Pierre in connection with the accident.
This week, just as Pierre's case was set to go to trial, she struck a plead deal. The deal cuts as much as 20 years off her sentence.
"I definitely want her to be held accountable for her actions," said Chris Frank, a friend of Cohen's.
Cohen's friends told Channel 9's Kenneth Craig that they were surprised and disappointed in the plea deal.
"Everything points to her not deserving the leniency that she got," said Frank.
WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said Pierre's plead deal isn't uncommon.
"Except in the most egregious circumstances, the state is always going to offer a plea deal much less that the maximum sentence, to avoid rolling the dice during a trial," said Sheaffer.
Pierre was facing up to 30 years in prison – she will spend 10.
It's not the kind of justice Cohen's friends were hoping for.
The formal sentencing for Pierre is set for next month.
WFTV
