Seminole County woman sentenced after passenger killed in fiery crash
WEWOKA, Okla. (KFOR) – A Seminole County judge sentenced a woman to four years in prison Wednesday for her role as the driver in a fiery 2019 crash that killed her passenger.
The incident happened in the summer of that year when Long, Trayvon Miller and a group of friends were driving back from Lake Wewoka.
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Long admitted to driving the car Miller was a passenger in.
Witnesses told News 4 at the time Long was driving more than 100 miles per hour when she lost control of her convertible. That car crashed into a concrete block, bursting into flames, and trapping Miller inside.
“Once I saw that white sheet go over him, I just dropped my head,” Darien Roberts, one of Miller’s friends, told News 4 back in 2019.
The road to Long’s sentencing has been a slow five year wait for Miller’s family, who was in attendance for Wednesday’s sentencing in Wewoka.
A judge said he concerned several factors before reaching his decision, including Long’s business ownership and previous testimony before handing out a 4 year prison sentence with 6 years on probation.
“To be honest, when we came to court last week, I was thinking the sentence could be more than recommended,” the judge said.
The state originally recommended Long serve 4 years in prison with 11 years on probation; a sentence Miller’s family agreed with.
Regardless of the outcome, Long was emotional after the judge shared his decision. It was emotion News 4 had not seen at a previous sentencing hearing last week when the judge delated his decision to Wednesday.
Long also covered her face with a binder Wednesday while entering the courtroom prior to the sentencing; even as News 4 tried to ask her questions.
“It was strange what happened in there,” said John Hoff, a Senior Legal Researcher at Palmer Law. “She turned to the victim’s family and we heard some kind of garbled weepy excuse about a gun and [Long] was being chased.”
Hoff works for the same law firm that represent Miller’s family. He said that there’s no way for them to be satisfied with the outcome after losing Trayvon, comparing her sentence to a “veneer of justice.”
Hoff also further criticized Long’s behavior after the sentencing.
“You could have had a trial, the time to bring that up was at trial,” said Hoff. “If I was guilty as hell I could put on a better show than that. It’s just amazing to watch, amazing, the lack of remorse.”
While Long was being led out of the courtroom in handcuffs News 4 did get a chance to ask her more questions, first asking if she believed the judge’s sentence was fair.
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“No, I don’t,” said Long.
News 4 also asked her if, after appearing emotional in court addressing Miller’s family, and making excuses for her actions, if she was actually sorry.
“Yes, I’m sorry,” said Long.
While an apology wasn’t enough to prevent Wednesday’s sentencing, the judge did remind Long she could go through the appeal process since her case never went to trial.
News 4 asked Hoff if that scenario is likely.
“Yes, and I’m thinking that is what’s going to happen,” said Hoff. “They can say they were pressured or whatever. Any defendant could take a plea back.”
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