Inset: Richard S. Ferguson (Osceola County Corrections). Background: The Florida intersection where Ferguson's son killed a grandmother and her three grandkids in a 2023 car crash (Google Maps).
A 69-year-old man in Florida will likely spend the rest of his life in prison for allowing his 15-year-old son to drive his car without a license, leading to a devastating 2023 crash that left a 50-year-old grandmother and her three grandchildren dead.
Ninth Judicial Circuit Judge Keith A. Carsten on Wednesday ordered Richard Seymour Ferguson to serve 37 years in a state correctional facility for his role in the deaths of Trinidad Hernandez and her grandkids, ages 1, 9, and 11. Carsten handed down the sentence after a jury in October found Ferguson guilty on four counts of manslaughter for willingly providing the car keys to the teen.
Richard Ferguson's son, Ri'shard Ferguson, previously reached a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to multiple charges of manslaughter after he ran a stop sign going more than 75 mph on Sept. 3, 2023, and slammed into Hernandez's vehicle. Under the terms of the agreement, Ri'shard Ferguson is required to remain in a juvenile detention facility until he turns 19, at which point he must complete two years of supervised release.
Ferguson's sentencing hearing
During Wednesday's sentencing hearing, several family members spoke on behalf of Ferguson, imploring the court to be lenient. Ferguson's stepson, Brian Floyd, said Ferguson had raised him since his birth, telling the judge, "I couldn't ask for a better person to be my father."
The family also emphasized that Ferguson was suffering from Stage 4 cancer, and would be unlikely to receive proper treatment while incarcerated.
Ferguson spoke on his own behalf and apologized to the victims' families, saying the weight of his remorse "could never be compared" to their pain.
"There are no words powerful enough to repair what has been broken," he said. "I stand before you today as a deeply broken man carrying a sorrow that may hurt my heart and I may never be strong enough to bear."
His defense attorney sought a sentence of community control, including house arrest, as well as 25 years of probation.
Several of the victims' family members also addressed the court seeking the maximum sentence.
"This man lived a full life that my children will never get to live," said Sabrina Hernandez, the mother of the three young victims and daughter of Trinidad. "My children were robbed of their life. I will never dance with my son at his wedding. I will miss out on every experience."
Hernandez referred to Ferguson as "cowardly" for failing to hold himself accountable for his actions.
"I have to wake up every day, every single day, without my babies or my mother," she said. "If I want to hug my children I have to hug a vase filled with a pile of ashes that sits in my living room. I take no pity on this man."
Prosecutors also emphasized that Ferguson had rejected two previous plea deals. The first would have included a five-year prison sentence while the second would have been an open plea with the maximum sentence capped at 10 years.
The fatal crash
According to court documents, the collision took place Sept. 3, 2023, at about 7 p.m. at the intersection of San Miguel Street and Laurel Avenue in Poinciana, Florida, which is about 30 miles south of Orlando. Ri'shard Ferguson was driving a white 2012 Chevy Impala with several other passengers inside.
Hernandez, who was driving a 2022 Honda HR-V crossover, was pronounced dead at the scene along with her 11-year-old granddaughter. Her 9-year-old grandson and 1-year-old granddaughter were transported to Poinciana Medical Center, where they too were pronounced dead.
A witness was standing on the corner of the intersection where the crash occurred. He told investigators he rode his bike past a nearby park and heard the people in the Impala say something to the effect of "Let's go," followed by "the hard acceleration of an engine" as the vehicle passed him going northbound on Laurel Avenue.
Hernandez's Honda was going westbound on San Miguel and had just entered the intersection when the witness estimated the Impala struck it while "traveling more than 100 mph at impact." Authorities later estimated that Ri'shard Ferguson was traveling "between speeds of 76 and 83 mph."
"The witness did not hear screeching of tires indicating either vehicle applied their brakes," police wrote in the affidavit.
Police said data from the car showed Ri'shard Ferguson had the gas pedal pressed "at 100 percent" just prior to the collision and was at 90% at the time of impact.
Investigators said Richard Ferguson assisted his son in taking the car out that evening. From the affidavit:
Richard Ferguson knowingly assisted his son, [Ri'shard Ferguson], by moving one vehicle out of the way so that [Ri'shard Ferguson] could enter [the vehicle] which was parked in the driveway of his residence, permitted the three minor passengers, who were under Richard Ferguson's supervision, to enter the vehicle, and then allowed his minor son to drive away with the three minor passengers, knowing that [Ri'shard Ferguson] was not a licensed driver.
One of the passengers who was with Richard Ferguson's son that evening testified in court that he remembered Richard Ferguson telling the teens to remember to put their seatbelts on before they left in the car, Orlando CBS affiliate WKMG reported. He also said the older man did not make any effort to prevent the teens from leaving in the vehicle after seeing them get into the car.