SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Fla. – The family of a young boy who was killed by a driver who ran a red light were in court Wednesday.
They were hoping to find out what punishment that driver will face, but it could take a while before the judge makes a decision.
The hearing was an opportunity for the family to speak to the driver and tell the judge how the crash, and the loss of their son. 11-year-old Anthony Reznick, has affected them.
They’re asking for the judge to take away the driver’s license for at least 10 years after she ran a red light in Sunny Isles Beach on Feb. 10 of last year, striking and killing the boy.
That driver, Samentha Toussaint, sat and listened with her face hidden behind sunglasses and a mask.
“Samentha Toussaint must be held responsible for her horrible actions,” said Dr. Inna Trakhtenberg, Anthony’s mother.
Local 10 News learned that the light was red for 16 seconds by the time Toussaint ran through it, hitting the child with her red Mercedes.
“I don’t wish any ill on Samentha at all, but she claims responsibility for these actions, she knows what she did,” said Vitaly Reznik, Anthony’s brother. “She needs to be off the road. She needs to be off the road so this doesn’t happen again.”
Toussaint, 34, pled guilty, accepting a deal that requires her to pay a $1,000 fine and do 120 hours of community service, but the one part of the deal that is still undecided is the length of time her license will be suspended.
The defense believed it could be no longer than six months. The state asked for five years and the family wanted at least 10.
“Samentha took my brother from me and I still think her license should be suspended and that she should not be on the road because I could not imagine this happening to anybody else,” said Tatiana Reznik, Anthony’s sister.
The judge is expected to make her decision about the length of suspension in two weeks.