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Shannon King, 22, has been sentenced to four years and 10 months in prison, followed by eight years of probation after pleading no contest to multiple charges.
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A woman charged in a January 2024 DUI crash near Castillo de San Marcos National Monument that seriously injured two women, has been sentenced to over four years in prison, followed by probation, according to court documents.
On Wednesday, 22-year-old Shannon King pleaded no contest on two counts of felony driving under the influence causing serious bodily injury to another, two counts of felony reckless driving causing serious bodily injury, and one count of driving under the influence related to the crash.
On Jan. 7, 2024 around 1:56 a.m., witnesses observed King’s vehicle traveling northbound on Avenida Menendez at a high rate of speed, striking the two women identified as Riley McGovern and Addie Meyers on the sidewalk, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office (SJSO) said.
King’s vehicle traveled into the parking lot of the monument, hitting the two women, a parking sign and a pay-to-park kiosk before coming to a stop, according to the sheriff’s office; Meyers was later identified as a Flagler College student, who at the time, played on the school’s women’s soccer team.
SJSO said initially the two women were in critical condition.
A passenger in the vehicle, Lamar Johnson Jr., 22, was charged with resisting officers without violence. The sheriff’s office said he refused to obey commands from law enforcement and attempted to cause a disturbance with other citizens while first responders were treating the victims and managing the scene.
A witness who wished to remain unidentified, but spoke to First Coast News shortly after the crash happened, said she saw King’s vehicle driving fast while cutting through a group of four people walking on the sidewalk. She said she saw two people get hit, while hearing the other two scream.
Body camera video of the crash, which was released by SJSO in February 2024, shows a deputy drive up to a stopped silver sedan, as King is getting out of the driver’s door.
“I remember seeing that car over there, probably a drunk f****** driver hit that girl in the pink shirt,” a witness said to a deputy in the video. “I only saw her body fly, I did not see the second girl get hit.”
While deputies spoke to witnesses on one side of the parking lot, a deputy talked to King on the other end. In the incident report, a deputy described smelling alcohol on King’s breath. She gave two breath samples, blowing double the legal limit both times.
The attorneys representing McGovern and Meyers previously told First Coast News McGovern was hurt pushing her friend out of the way of King’s car, and that she was put into a medically induced coma.
Here’s a breakdown of King’s sentence:
- Count one – Sentenced to 58 months in prison on one count of driving under the influence causing serious bodily injury; given credit for time served in the amount of three days.
- Count two – Given five years of probation, to run consecutive to count one.
- Count three – Given a year of probation, to run consecutive to count two.
- Counts four and five – Given two years of probation, to run consecutive count three