Rock Hill teen gets ‘maximum sentence’ in golf cart crash that killed girl
A South Carolina judge has sentenced a Rock Hill teen who pleaded guilty to reckless homicide in the crash death of a 15-year-old girl on a golf cart last year to the maximum for juveniles, prosecutors said.
The boy did not have a driver’s license.
The sentence could last until the teen is age 21, 16th Circuit Senior Solicitor Matthew Shelton said after a hearing Tuesday in York County Family Court. Any sentencing for juveniles in South Carolina Family Courts ends at age 21, he said.
The boy’s lawyer, 16th Circuit Senior Public defender Stacey Coleman, told The Herald in a statement Tuesday after court he only had a learner’s permit at the time of the collision.
The boy, who was 16 years old at the time in July, was driving 68 mph in a 25 mph zone when his vehicle hit the golf cart carrying Marlie Sullivan and other teens. Sullivan died from her injuries, and three others were hurt.
Prosecutor: “There has to be accountability”
The teen, now 17, was prosecuted in Family Court. His name has not been released because of his age. He will serve detention in the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice, Shelton said.
The sentence handed down by visiting Judge Jan Bromell Holmes is called an indeterminate sentence, Shelton said.
“Prior to sentencing, the judge said she wanted this to be a message to the community that this type of behavior is not acceptable,” Shelton said after court.
A witness in the case told officials the teen was “driving like a NASCAR driver” before the crash, Shelton said.
Shelton said what happened is a “terrible tragedy,” but required consequences.
“There has to be accountability,” Shelton said.
Shelton praised the work of the Rock Hill Police Department accident reconstruction team that investigated the collision.
Defense lawyer: Teen driver “as remorseful as a person can be”
The teen driver was inexperienced, said his lawyer, Coleman in a statement. The crash happened at night, Coleman said.
Coleman called the incident a “tragic event” the victims and said her client will never be able to forget.
“My client is as remorseful as a person can be in a situation such as this,” Coleman said. “It is my hope that he uses this time to reflect on his choices and perhaps one day he will be able to share his story as a cautionary tale to other young drivers.”
Coleman said South Carolina juvenile sentencing guidelines for the case are for 12 to 18 months in detention, but the sentence could be longer for negative conduct while in custody.
The other people on the golf cart have not been identified and the extent of their injuries has not been released.
Tuesday’s hearing in York County Family Court was not open to the public; South Carolina law allows a judge to decide whether such hearings are open or closed. The judge denied The Herald’s request for access to the hearing.
A different visiting judge, Rochelle Conits, also denied public access to the teen’s guilty plea in a Family Court hearing in November.
This is a developing story.
This story was originally published February 11, 2025 at 12:54 PM.
