Left inset: Karen Cannon (KVVU/YouTube). Right inset: Patrick Deloriea (KLAS/YouTube). Background: The Tesla Model Y that Karen Cannon was driving when she hit and killed Patrick Deloriea (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department).
A Nevada woman sobbed in court and begged for forgiveness after mowing down and killing a father with her Tesla as he was crossing a road — later claiming she hit a coyote while filing a AAA claim and getting her car fixed.
"Please forgive me, please," Karen Cannon, 64, reportedly told the family of her victim, Patrick Deloriea, 32, while being sentenced Wednesday for killing the Las Vegas bartender and martial artist in May 2025.
"It's unfortunate, I didn't mean for this to happen," Cannon said through tears, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "I'm sorry."
Deloriea's family wasn't having it, telling Cannon "no" in chorus while sitting in the courtroom gallery, the Review-Journal reports.
"I won't forgive her and I don't think God will forgive her," Deloriea's mother, Melody Peterson, told the local newspaper. "She will be judged in front of God."
Court records show that Cannon pleaded guilty in January to reckless driving resulting in death and failing to stop at the scene of a crash involving death. An arrest report obtained by local CBS affiliate KLAS and Fox affiliate KVVU said Cannon hit Deloriea and left him to die at the intersection of Vegas Drive and Rainbow Boulevard as he was crossing the street.
Cannon hit Deloriea while going 66.3 mph in a 35 mph zone. The impact sent his body flying 155 feet into the air.
Cannon fled the scene and then took her Tesla Model Y to a body shop for repairs days later after filing a AAA claim. The arrest report said Cannon claimed her Tesla suffered a "hard blow" after striking an animal that she believed was a coyote, according to KLAS.
The owner of the body shop called police after seeing news reports about Deloriea's death and a Tesla that was involved. He told investigators he still had the front left fender from Cannon's car and handed it over to them.
Cannon claimed in her AAA report that she dropped off a friend before hitting the coyote, according to KVVU. She admitted to not contacting the police.
"There's no consequence to the bad driving until it gets to a position where we're in the courtroom and one person has pled guilty and you have a family who will never get back a person," said District Judge Danielle Pieper at Cannon's sentencing.
"The loss of my husband has completely and permanently changed my life," said Deloriea's wife, Rebecca Marie Hahn, while holding up a photo of her husband and their 2-year-old son.
Cannon was sentenced to serve between three and eight years in prison.
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