RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — A man responsible for a deadly hit-and-run crash involving a golf cart back in August 2022 has been sentenced to prison after accepting a plea deal.
Riviera Beach police said Willie Joe Shannon Jr. accepted a plea deal on Oct. 17 and pled guilty to vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a crash involving death.
On Thursday, he was sentenced to eight years in state prison.
"You run over the back of somebody, you leave, you let them lay there dying, do you think that's sufficient? I don't," said Kenny Pour, a friend of the victim.
"What would you like to have happened?" asked WPTV's Joel Lopez.
"Well more than 8 years," Pour said. "Twenty-five years would be at least the minimum for doing something like that."
Investigators said Shannon is responsible for a crash back on Aug. 16, 2022 that killed Troy Lowry on the Blue Heron Bridge. According to detectives, Shannon, 59, was driving a black Mercedes Benz at around 1:30 a.m. when he hit Lowry, who was riding in a golf cart.
Lowry was the owner of Get Wet Watersports in Riviera Beach. He died at the scene.
Police said Shannon ran from the scene and was later identified as a person of interest based on video evidence.
Following a lengthy investigation, U.S. Marshals arrested Shannon on Dec. 18, 2022 at the Inlet Liquors located at 146 E. Blue Heron Blvd.
Chris Rodberg, who was also a friend of Lowry, said traffic accidents have improved in the area since the fatal crash that happened two years ago.
"It has been better on this bridge, because of traffic I think we haven't had any major accidents since that incident," said Rodberg, who owns Rod Room Bait and Tackle. "Actually, they were there yesterday with the speed guns."
Shannon's prison sentence is followed by six years of probation, restitution and additional court-imposed conditions.
WPTV's previous coverage on this case:
Riviera Beach
Arrest in deadly hit-and-run crash involving golf cart in Riviera Beach
Riviera Beach
Friend remembers golf cart driver killed in hit-and-run crash
Riviera Beach
Police to shut down stretch of Blue Heron Bridge in hit-and-run investigation
Riviera Beach
