Woman responsible for 2015 hit-and-run death back in court

Evan Shepherd, 27, died in January 2015 in a hit and run accident in Fort Myers.

Yariza Herrera, 16 at the time, ran a red light and hit Shepherd at the corner of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Palm Avenue, sending his car into a tree which ultimately killed him.

Herrera fled the scene and wasn’t arrested until eight months later.

She took a plea deal, admitting to killing Shepherd in the crash. She was sentenced to probation and was required to wear an ankle monitor for 90 days.

MORE: Teen sentenced for deadly 2015 hit-and-run

Herrera, now 20 years old, is in trouble with the law again for driving with a suspended license in Collier County and Shepherd’s family wants her off the streets for good.

“I feel that she doesn’t respect my brother’s death by doing that because that was one of the things she agreed to was not getting behind the wheel of a car,” said Evan’s sister Lauren Harkins.

Herrera was given a plea deal in 2016 to avoid jail time, and one of the terms of her deal was having her license revoked.

“It’s one of the worst questions when somebody asked how many siblings do I have,” she said.

In June of this year, Herrera was pulled over on State Road 29 in Collier County and she now faces up to 60 days in jail.

“It’s one of those things where the ball is out of my court,” Lauren said.

But Harkins says she plans to continue speaking out on the issue until justice is served.

“God forbid if something else happens to somebody else I would feel so guilty,” she said.

Herrera will appear back in court October 19.