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Woman who ran over triplet girls, killing one as they played in front yard, jailed for 13 years

Published: 21:04 EST, 3 April 2012 | Updated: 22:00 EST, 3 April 2012

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At fault: Betty Jo Tagerson was also sentenced to five years probation and had her license permanently revoked

A 40-year-old woman has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for running over triplet girls, killing one and injuring the others.

A Pasco County, Florida judge sentenced Betty-Jo Tagerson on Tuesday.

She was convicted in January of vehicular homicide, culpable negligence manslaughter and two counts of reckless driving with serious injury. She had faced up to 25 years in prison.

Authorities say Tagerson was upset after an argument with her boyfriend and speeding through the Hudson neighborhood in November 2010 in a vehicle with bad breaks and bald tires and in such poor condition, Tagerson used a bungee cord to close the driver door.

Tagerson lost control of her Jeep and went up on a curb, where she hit a group of children playing.

A girl who was part of a set of triplets, five-year-old Delany Rossman, died a day after the crash. Another triplet sustained critical injuries but recovered. A third sister and a neighbor girl had minor injuries.

A friend of the girls, Marissa Manuli, was also injured.

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Innocent: Tagerson's car drove into the Rossman girls, who were five at the time of the November 2010 crash

Tragic: Delany Rossman died a day after the crash

As the Tampa bay Times reports, both of the surviving Rossman triplets testified during the trial.

Isabella Rossman told jurors about the horror she felt when she saw the car plowing toward her and her sisters.

'I saw a car coming lights on, and until it came over here, and it hit me until it hit Gabrielle,' she said.

The girls' mother, Danielle Malm, was in court for the sentencing, asking Judge Michael F Andrews for the maximum penalty.

Grief-stricken: The girls' mother, Danielle Malm, was in court for the sentencing, and asked Judge Michael F Andrews for the maximum penalty

Family: Isabella Rossman testified for her late sister during the three-day trial

Jailed: Betty Jo Tagerson, who entered court using a walker, asked for forgiveness from the judge, calling the crash an accident

'When we're given drivers' licenses, we're told how to drive these vehicles, we're told they are a deadly weapon,' Mrs Malm told the judge.

Tagerson asked for forgiveness.

'The sentence I receive today will not bring sweet Delaney back, nor will it help her family forgive my decision to get in the car that day, but I am truly sorry for what's happened,' she said.

'Feelings of regret and sadness have haunted me. Still, more than a year later, I cannot stop thinking about the little girl who I personally knew,' Tagerson added.

Judge Andrew sentenced Tagerson to 13.3 years behind bars; he also sentenced the 40-year-old to five years probation and revoked her license for life.

Tagerson did not have any criminal history.

There was no evidence presented she was Tagerson had drugs in her system during the three-day trial. However, Florida Highway Patrol reported Tagerson had prescribed levels of oxycodone in her system the night of the crash, Tampa Bay Times reports.

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Driver in triplet death gets 13 years: MyFoxTAMPABAY.com