A judge in South Florida sentenced a man to 40 years in prison for the hit-and-run death of a woman who was walking with her teenage daughter along Ocean Drive in Deerfield Beach in 2018.
The crash killed Tina Cagnana, 47. Her 16-year-old daughter wasn't injured.
David Posta, 43, entered an open guilty plea last Thursday, which left the sentencing up to Broward Circuit Judge Michael Usan because an agreement couldn't be reached with prosecutors, the South Florida SunSentinel reported.
“We are pleased with the decision that the court made. Maybe it will bring a little bit of peace,” Luca Cagnana,, the victim's husband, told the newspaper on Monday.
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Police found Posta about six hours after the crash. He told investigators he didn't stop because he was afraid to stop after the crash because he knew his vehicle registration had expired. He also refused to submit to a blood alcohol test.
Posta's lawyer, Brian Greenwald, said his client chose not to fight because he knew he deserved to be penalized.
“For what it’s worth, and the family of the victim will never believe him, but Posta really does feel remorse and wishes he were the one who died rather than the victim,” Greenwald said.
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Prosecutor Ross Weiner told the newspaper that they're declining to pursue a separate misdemeanor charge against Posta for leaving the scene of a crash the week before Cagnana was killed.