WAKULLA COUNTY, FL — Alfreda Nelson received a 15-year state prison sentence for a hit-and-run crash that seriously injured 9-year-old Sawyer Crawley last January.
WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW:
2nd Circuit Judge Brian D. Miller handed down the maximum sentence during Thursday's hearing. Nelson was charged with one count of leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury. Last month she pleaded no contest to the charge.
Authorities said Nelson hit Sawyer with her car while he was riding a small motorbike near the Camelot neighborhood in Crawfordville. The crash left the young boy with serious injuries and required weeks of treatment.
During the hearing, Miller heard from a Florida Highway Patrol trooper, Nelson's friends and family, Sawyer's mother, and a statement from Sawyer himself.
"I don't understand why she left. It makes me sad and angry that she didn't care enough to stop. That accident didn't just changed my life. It changed forever, my life that day. It changed it forever. Thank you," Sawyer's mom read during the hearing.
Sawyer's mother, Kaitlyn Crawley, addressed Nelson directly in court.
"That moment, you had a choice. You could have stopped, you could have helped, you could have shown even the smallest amount of humanity. Instead, you chose to leave my child alone, broken in the road," Kaitlyn said.
Miller said the maximum sentence was appropriate due to Nelson's pattern of behavior and choices.
"So what I see is a pattern of not just in this case, throughout the whole course of this case, but defrauding other people and injuring them as well and not seemingly caring by the consequences of your actions. I find in this case, a maximum sentence is appropriate," Miller said, "because of your choices. Not mine, not Sawyer Crawley's. You chose to leave the scene after you hit that child, is what it comes down to."
Miller noted that if Nelson had stayed at the scene, the outcome would have been vastly different.
"This case, Ms. Nelson, are your entire course of decisions, not just simply the crash itself. That was one thing. Had you done the right thing, the humane thing, the decent thing to do, which is stay on scene and call for help for that child. In all likelihood, you'd be seeing me across the hall for a traffic citation for not maintaining a single lane, and that's about it. You wouldn't be sitting there right now charged with the crime," Miller said.
Nelson's attorney, Chris Karpinski, said the defense was surprised by the sentence.
"It just seems pretty excessive. It's certainly unexpected to get 15 years for that. We don't condone leaving the scene of an accident and Alfreda acknowledge that. She took responsibility for that," Karpinski said.
Kaitlyn said the family could not have asked for a better outcome and that Sawyer got justice. She added the sentencing showed how the judge feels for the safety of the community and its children.
"I just want to thank the community who showed up today, for the ones that prayed for us, the ones that thought about us today, the ones that have reached out and sent me messages, texts, phone calls. I appreciate everything so much from everybody. It's been a journey, and without the community, I don't think we would have made it through. I appreciate it," Kaitlyn said.
ALFREDA NELSON’S SENTENCING: HOW WE GOT HERE.
Judge Brian D. Miller sentenced Alfreda Nelson to 15 years in state prison for her charge of Leaving the Scene of a Crash involving Serious Bodily Injury. That sentence is the maximum for that crime.
He said that it was because it was not just one poor decision, it was a series of poor decisions throughout this case that had led to his decision. He cited that after hitting Sawyer, Nelson parked the car elsewhere, walked by the scene, told someone not to talk to law enforcement about her involvement, and to check if the car was still where she left it, and told law enforcement that the damage to her car was from hitting a trash can.
WATCH JUDGE MILLER'S FULL REMARKS BELOW:
“You continued to escape responsibility for this in any way you possibly could,” said Judge Miller.
He also cited that other actions she had taken after the crash that were presented to him during the sentencing were what he also looked at. Judge Miller said Nelson was looking into moving back to her home state of Mississippi or heading towards Texas. He said that when he saw her on January 10th, 2025, during her first appearance before him for this case, he set her bond at $50,000, but also had the order not to drive.
“I even put a big box around it and said, no driving. And then on December 9, 2025, the state files a motion to revoke your bond because there was video evidence of you driving, and not for anything necessary, not going to the grocery store, not taking the child to the doctor, getting your nails done,” Judge Miller said. “That tells me you never had any intention of following my order to not drive, because again, that's not a complex legal theory. That is two simple words, no driving. And you did it.”
“So again, it's your entire course of action throughout this entire case establishes to me that I should be punishing you to the fullest extent of the law for what you did,” said Judge Miller.
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