Woman gets 25 years for fatal Hernando County hit-and-run

Rhonda Sue Smith was sentenced to 25 years in state prison after accepting a plea agreement in Hernando County Circuit Court on May 28, bringing a court ending to a fatal hit-and-run that had remained open since 2023. Smith, now 39, pleaded to leaving the scene of a crash involving death in the case tied to the death of Shawn Michael Mullins on Jacqueline Road west of Mariner Boulevard.

Mullins, 38, was walking along the road at about 9:28 p.m. on Oct. 16, 2023, when investigators say he was struck from behind by a 2004 Ford F-150 pickup truck. He was thrown to the shoulder of the roadway and died at the scene. The crash happened on a dark stretch of roadway that has become all too familiar in Florida, where pedestrian deaths make up a large share of fatal hit-and-run cases.

Investigators built the case from the vehicle itself. They recovered debris from the scene, including grille components and Ford part numbers, and later found the damaged pickup abandoned in Brooksville. Troopers examined the truck for physical evidence and electronic data, then followed interviews with Smith and others connected to the vehicle. A witness reportedly saw a woman get out of the pickup after the crash, react in shock, and run southbound on Mariner Boulevard. Investigators also determined the truck was owned by Ronald Scott Smith, but was being driven by an unidentified female when the crash happened. The driver fled on foot after leaving the pickup on Star Road.

The 25-year sentence falls short of the 30-year maximum and $10,000 fine allowed under Florida law for leaving the scene of a crash involving a death, but it still places Smith near the top of the penalty range lawmakers set for fatal flight cases. Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles says the Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act took effect on July 1, 2014, and the state continues to see the toll of drivers who flee deadly crashes. In 2023, Florida recorded 271 hit-and-run fatalities, including 159 pedestrians and 47 bicyclists, and more than 81 percent happened during dawn, dusk or nighttime conditions.

Mullins’ obituary says he died on Oct. 16, 2023, and was remembered by family as a father, son, brother, grandson, nephew and cousin. After more than two years, the plea and sentence delivered a final legal consequence in Hernando County for a crash that took a man’s life on a county road and left a family to carry the loss.