MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A Martin County judge has handed down back-to-back, consecutive prison terms totaling nearly 29 years for a woman who pleaded guilty to striking and killing a bicyclist and then fleeing the scene with the victim’s bike still wedged onto her car.
Circuit Judge Elizabeth Metzger firmly denied a defense request for a downward departure, sentencing Elise Elder to 17 years in state prison for leaving the scene of a crash involving death, with credit for one day served. That sentence will be served consecutively to a 145.5-month, over 12 years, term for DUI manslaughter, which will be followed by one year of probation, Level 1 DUI School, a $10,000 fine, and a permanent, lifetime revocation of her driver’s license.
“It is clear that you are an intelligent woman, but I have to tell you that it’s extremely difficult to line up what others said about you with what happened on the morning of June 28, 2024,” Metzger told Elder, noting a mandatory four-year minimum applies…