Logan Hetherington released early from prison

A man who took a plea deal in the death of an 8-year-old girl has been released early from prison five months early Friday.

Logan Hetherington spent most of his two-year sentence behind bars for the hit-and-run death of Layla Aiken in his Dodge pickup truck while she waited at her Cape Coral bus stop He was 19 at the time.

According to police, at 6:18 a.m. on March 25, 2019, Layla was sitting in the grass with her back to the road near a stop sign and street light pole. She was waiting for the arrival of her school bus.

Police say they believe the street lighting where Layla was should have made her clearly visible to “an alert and careful driver” if they drove south along NE 3rd Avenue from the bridge.

Layla’s brothers were present at the time.

Kathleen Redman, Layla’s mother, said previously, “Logan killed my daughter in a horribly violent manner, but he didn’t mean to. He’s not a murderer. His family is not evil, cold or calculated. They were afraid … We see them for what they really are, a family in pain, because we feel the same.”

And with that, the judge sentenced Hetherington to two years behind bars, two years house arrest and two years probation for the hit-and-run death of Layla.

Redman signed off on the sentence.

“I can’t bring her back,” Redman said. “I can try though, try to make it better not worse. Try not to make the situation any more awful or dark than it already is.”

Hetherington was also sentenced to perform 120 hours of community service. His driver’s license is suspended for a year.