Biloxi man gets maximum sentence for hit and run that killed a pedestrian from Florida
A Biloxi man got the maximum sentence Tuesday after being convicted of felony leaving the scene of an accident that killed a Florida man in 2020.
Judge Keith Miller sentenced John David Cole, 49, to 20 years in prison, with 15 years to serve and five years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and five years of post-release supervision.
Cole was driving a blue Hyundai Elantra when he hit pedestrian Douglas Couey, of Jacksonville, Florida. The crash happened on Mississippi 609 at Big Ridge Road near St. Martin near exit 50 of I-10.
Cole fled the scene of the crash, and Couey died at the scene.
“Yesterday marked the beginning of National Crime Victims’ Rights week,” Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said after the sentencing Monday.
She said more than 20 members of Couey’s family “stood strongly” at Cole’s sentencing.
“This is a powerful reminder of the wide-reaching effects of crime and underscores why my office remains committed to seeking justice for victims and families. When his family rests this evening, they can do so knowing our office was fully committed to convicting the person responsible for the death of their loved one,” she said.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Bill Barrett.
