John Jefferson
Insets: Shannon King (St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office/WTLV/YouTube). Background: Shannon King exiting her vehicle after hitting two people in January 2024 (St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office/WTLV/YouTube).
A 22-year-old woman in Florida is heading to prison for almost half a decade after mowing down two women “at a high rate of speed” while driving drunk — with one of the victims reportedly trying to push the other to safety, putting herself in harm’s way — in a “DUI crash” that left the pair seriously injured, according to police.
“I remember seeing that car over there, probably a f—ing drunk driver hit that girl in the pink shirt,” a witness can be heard saying on police body camera video from the night Shannon King nearly killed pedestrians Riley McGovern and Addie Meyers. The footage was obtained and released by the local NBC and ABC affiliates WTLV and WJXX, respectively.
“I only saw her body fly, I did not see the second girl get hit,” the witness says.
King, a resident of St. Johns County, was sentenced this week to four years and 10 months in prison for running over McGovern and Meyers as they were walking on a sidewalk near the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument at 11 South Castillo Drive on Jan. 7, 2024, according to WTLV and WJXX.
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Department reported that she was charged with 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 for the incident, which was described by officials as a “DUI crash” in a January 2024 press release.
“Witnesses near the scene observed a vehicle traveling northbound on Avenida Menendez at a high rate of speed and strike two women on the pedestrian sidewalk,” cops said. “The vehicle continued to travel into a parking lot, striking a parking sign and pay to park kiosk before coming to a stop.”
Body camera footage captured by responding officers shows King, who was with a passenger, crying at the scene and asking about the victims’ condition. McGovern was reportedly injured and placed into a medically-induced coma after trying to push Meyers out of the way from taking the brunt of the impact from King’s vehicle, which was described as a sedan.
“I’m not going to hide stuff from you,” an officer tells King. “I’m sure you’re concerned, so that’s why I’m telling you, their condition is serious.”
Crying, King says: “It’s late and my mom is probably scared. I’m scared.”
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Three hours after the crash, while being transported by police, King can be heard on video asking, “You guys still don’t have an update on the people that were hit?”
The officer transporting her says, “They’re still listed as critical.”
“OK,” King replies.
Deputies reported smelling alcohol on King’s breath while speaking with her after the crash. She provided two breath samples, blowing double the legal limit both times, according to police.
She pleaded no contest to her charges last week and was sentenced to 58 months in prison, followed by probation, for one count of driving under the influence causing serious bodily injury.
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