A Maryland woman who fatally struck two children in a school crosswalk was reportedly sentenced to 120 days in jail on July 31.
Olga Lugo Jiminez, a school van driver, ran over 5-year-old Sky Sosa and 10-year-old Shalom Joy Mbah in November 2023 after failing to stop at a Prince George’s County crosswalk, News 4 Washington reported. She was initially charged with two counts of negligent manslaughter but accepted a plea deal reducing the charges to traffic violations. (RELATED: Police Arrest Man Accused Of Shooting Driver Who Allegedly Plowed Into Crowd)
Judge Judy L. Woodall called the sentence “woefully inadequate” for a child who “didn’t make it home,” the outlet reported. She urged prosecutors to push for tougher penalties in fatal traffic cases.
Sosa’s father was also struck during the crash but suffered only minor injuries, according to WMAR2 News. Lugo Jiminez was scheduled to report to serve her sentence at 9 a.m. on Monday, according to the outlet.
A parent drops off his children at Strathmore Elementary School on October 23, 2002, in Aspen Hill, Maryland. Strathmore is located less than a mile from where a bus driver was shot and killed on October 23. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Tara Jackson called the incident “a devastating reminder” of the need for drivers to stay alert, telling WMAR2 News that the children “were simply walking to school — something countless children and their parents do every day.”
Jackson said the sentence aligned with state guidelines but “does not begin to reflect the depth of this loss” for the victims’ families.
The parents of both children have filed a lawsuit against Prince George’s County Fire and EMS, the Board of Education, driver and van owner, alleging there was no crossing guard at the intersection and that emergency responders were slow to arrive, 7 News reported.