Broward teen sentenced to 10 years for deadly 2022 stolen car crash after emotional testimony from victim's family

For the first time on Friday, the family of a woman who died in a violent crash saw disturbing police body-camera footage of her final moments before the teen who slammed into her was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by 10 years of probation. 

On Aug. 28, 2022, 35-year-old Maria Telez Valderrabano, a mother of three, was killed when authorities say the driver of a stolen car slammed into her vehicle.   

The driver, who was 15 years old at the time of the crash, was in a Broward County courtroom Friday to be sentenced on charges of vehicular homicide and manslaughter. Jah-Kobe Bessent, now 19, read a letter of remorse, apologizing to both the victim's family and his own.

"I should never have been behind the wheel," Bessent said.

On the other hand, Tellez Valderrabano's family told the court they continue to struggle with her death.

"We have faced unpredictable and unimaginable pain," her daughter, Samantha Cruz, said. "It's hard moving on from someone so dear to us. No matter how long the sentence is, it's never going to bring back my mom, nor undo what happened."

Her son, Michael Tellez Féria, described waking up from dreams in which his mother was still alive.

"Every time I close my eyes I dream about my mom for a few precious moments," he said. "In those dreams she was alive, she spoke, she smiled. Everything felt normal again. Then I wake up and I have to lose her all over again."

The victim's family had asked the judge for a 30-year sentence.

Emily Féria, Tellez Valderrabano's sister, said she believes the punishment does not fit the consequences of Bessent's actions.

"No justice for my sister," Féria said. "Ten years is a joke. I mean, it's ridiculous."

She also questioned whether Bessent would complete his probation.

"I'm pretty sure he's going to violate the probation," she said.

During the hearing, footage of the aftermath was shown in stark detail, proving so troubling that it sent the victim's family running from the courtroom in tears.

Surveillance video from the sky captured the moments before the crash, while body camera video showed the aftermath. Investigators say Bessent was driving without a license and blew through a red light before slamming into the Cruze.

Attorneys for Bessent argued for leniency, citing his difficult upbringing, which was marked by severe punishment at home, trouble in school, and the early death of his mother.

His sister asked the judge for mercy, saying Bessent was still a child when the crash happened.

"He was a child, he thought like a child, he moved like a child, he did childish things, and unfortunately because of that decision someone lost a life," she said.

But Féria pushed back on that argument, saying she experienced similar hardships growing up without making the same choices.

"I had the same or worse living life when I was young," Féria said. "I moved from house to house, family to family. I had the same thing, and I'm not a criminal."

Bessent's defense attorney, Kirk Shields, said his client now has an opportunity to turn his life around.
"He does have an opportunity to change his life now," Shields said.

For Tellez Valderrabano's family, however, the loss remains permanent.

"No matter what the sentence is, it's not going to bring back my mom," her daughter said.