ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A man accused of killing a 10-year-old girl with his SUV in January 2015 pleaded guilty in an Orange County Court to two of the four counts against him.
Friends and family of Aubrey Clark were prepared for trial. They wore their Aubrey’s Angels shirts as they heard Lastevie Howard plead guilty.
"Mr. Stuart tells us that you wish to withdraw your previous plea of not guilty and enter a plea of guilty to these two charges. Is that what you want to do today?” asked Judge Julie O'Kane.
"Yes, ma'am," said Howard.
Howard was charged in the death of Aubrey Clark, who was riding her bicycle home from school with her friend, Jordan el Ouadi, in Ocoee.
Both were hit, but Ouadi survived.
Police said Howard hit the children as he sped out of a Walgreens parking lot.
In an interview with investigators, Howard said he had just picked up his two children from school and that Clark and her classmate came out of nowhere.
“I look like this, and by the time I can look to catch the break in traffic, I hit the gas, come out, and boom, they hit the side of the car right in the front," said Howard.
The defendant’s attorney argued that there was no way for Howard to miss the children in the crash, and that he denied driving away after hitting them.
"The evidence will show, there's no question in our mind, it was physically impossible for Mr. Howard to miss the little girl in the accident," said defense attorney Jacob Stuart.
Surveillance video shows Howard driving away after the crash.
He was facing charges of vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a crash with death, reckless driving and leaving the scene of a crash with serious bodily injury.
He pleaded guilty only to leaving the scene.
But investigators and witness testimony claim that Howard drove onto the sidewalk to get around cars, crossed a median and into oncoming traffic before driving off, leaving the children critically injured.
He had denied all of those claims, until Monday.
If a jury had convicted him, he would've faced a maximum 30 years in prison. By changing his plea, he'll face a maximum 17 years.
Cox Media Group
