I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say that 33-year-old Stephanie Stinson of Winter Haven, Florida isn’t a great example for the youngsters to follow. I dare say they’d do well not to stand in front of it, either.
The trouble (at least the trouble we know about anyhow) began when Stinson told her 15-year-old daughter that she wished to buy some marijuana and wondered if perhaps one of her little friends might be able to make that happen. The daughter sent a few texts and the next thing you know, a deal was made. Well, sort of.
Stinson paid $20 for a bag of marijuana and expected change in return. When she didn’t get her change, Stinson attempted to block the vehicle from leaving. Lopez, who was getting inside of the vehicle on the passenger side, was struck when Stinson rammed her blue Dodge Avenger into the vehicle. The impact launched Lopez over the hood of the vehicle where he landed in the roadway. He suffered significant injuries including facial fractures and other broken bones.
Feeling frightened of what she had just done and ashamed that she, the lone responsible adult here had let the situation spiral so far out of control, Stinson immediately offered help and comfort to the would-be salesman. Well, sort of.
Stinson stopped briefly to pull off a piece of her vehicle that was dragging and both she and her daughter saw Lopez injured in the roadway. As they left, Stinson’s daughter called 9-1-1, but they did not stay at the scene. A piece of Stinson’s car was lodged in the silver Chevrolet she had struck and police were able to determine the ownership by the vin number marked on the vehicle part.
Sensing that things had now gone way too far, they drove that damaged car straight to the police station without a second thought and threw themselves upon the mercy of the law. Well, sort of.
Initially, police were unable to locate Stinson’s vehicle; however her estranged husband called police at 7:06 a.m. to report that he found his vehicle with damage and Stephanie had sent him text messages stating she had struck a vehicle and a person earlier.
On 10-15-17 at 8:09 a.m. Stinson and her daughter reported to the Winter Haven Police Department to give statements to the incident.
No word on what if anything will happen to the girl, but Stinson was charged with Leaving the Scene of a Crash Involving Injury and contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor. Since everyone makes mistakes, I hope the police go easy on her. Well, sort of.
