A Port Orange teenager pled no contest Tuesday to a charge of vehicular homicide after he filmed the aftermath of the crash and left the scene, according to police.
As part of a plea agreement, Braden Lafferty, 19, was sentenced to a year in the county jail for the death of a woman he was drag racing .
He was sentenced as a youthful offender to 364 days in the Volusia County Branch Jail followed by two years under house arrest.
Circuit Judge Karen Foxman withheld adjudication, according to the terms of the plea agreement, meaning Lafferty will not have a felony conviction for the charge if he succesfully completes probation.
Kayla Lawrence, 32, of Port Orange, was killed in the crash which happened Dec. 23, 2023, at 1:15 a.m. on Dunlawton Avenue near Spruce Creek Road.
The two had stopped at a railroad crossing. As soon as the track was clear of the train and the crossing arms raised, they raced off. A surveillance camera showed Lawrence traveling at 82 mph in her Cadillac and Lafferty going just over 79 mph in his Infiniti, about half a vehicle length behind Lawrence, police said. The speed limit is 45.
Lawrence was killed when she ran off the road at about 86 mph, went airborne and wrapped the car around a concrete power pole, police said.
Lafferty sped away from the scene but took the time to make a U-turn and film the crash aftermath on his iPhone. He then went to his home less than a mile away, and inspected his car to see if it was damaged, the crash report said.
Lafferty’s phone showed on Snapchat that he recorded the vehicle crash scene in front of the Port Orange Post Office.
Police investigators also said they found "numerous narcotics-related communications" between Lafferty and other individuals on his phone. After the crash, Lafferty traveled to New Smyrna Beach to sell narcotics to someone identified as "Tj," according to the report.
Lafferty’s defense attorney, Aaron Delgado, said that as part of the plea deal, the state agreed to dismiss a charge of leaving the scene of an accident, which was punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
Prosecutors also agreed to dismiss a charge of racing, a misdemeanor.
Delgado also said that according to records Lawrence's blood alcohol content was “well above” the limit of 0.08 at which a person is considered legally intoxicated.
He added that by agreeing to the plea deal his client avoided “rolling the dice” in a trial. He also spared the decedent’s family the need to have to endure a trial and subsequent appeals.
Delgado said everyone regrets what happened.
“My client felt terrible about anyone losing their life,” Delgado said.
Lafferty must serve three years probation and must abstain from using alcohol or drugs while being subject to random screenings. He's also required to attend school or get a job, is prohibited from having a firearm, will be electronically monitored for a year, and must make restitution.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Teen who filmed aftermath of deadly crash pleads no contest to vehicular homicide
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