A Tierrasanta woman was sentenced Friday to the maximum sentence possible in a hit-and-run crash that killed one girl and seriously injured another.
Julianne Little, 30, will spend 11 years behind bars for the Feb. 20, 2016 crash that killed 10-year-old Raquel Rosete and seriously injured her friend, 12-year-old Mekayla Lee.
“Story of her life is not what she did, but what she should have done," said Raquel's father, Michael Rosete.
Jurors convicted Little of vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run in December and ruled that distracted driving caused the crash.
The defense argued Little fell asleep behind the wheel when she hit the girls as they were walking along the sidewalk off Santo Road near Shields Street.
Little initially fled the scene, but returned shortly after the crash.
During Friday's sentencing, many of Raquel's family members said their faith in God allows them to forgive Little. But some, like Raquel's grandfather, said they weren't ready to do that.
Rosette told NBC 7 this has been a long journey for the family that has taken a toll on everyone.
"It’s been a year, and in two weeks will be Raquel’s 12th birthday. If justice was served, and today it was, she got the maximum, and we’ll just move forward with that," he said.
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Rosette added that Little had the opportunity to "do the right thing" but it took a year to bring her to justice.
"It was our faith that was the conclusion because we just can’t live with anger or any type of hate because if we’re gonna live that lifestyle it’s gonna tear my family apart," he said. "So I just gotta move forward with my family and understand it’s going to get better for me right now."
