Yuma Woman Pleads Guilty in April Hit-and-Run, Faces 3.5-Year Sentence

A 21-year-old Yuma woman has accepted a plea deal in connection with an April 2025 hit-and-run that left a man hospitalized. Yancy Antonio pleaded guilty on Jan. 20 to leaving the scene of an accident and faces a presumptive 3.5-year sentence under the agreement. The plea carries a minimum of 2.5 years and a maximum of seven years, and the deal specifies that no probation will be granted. Her sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 27.

The case also produced a separate resolution for a co-defendant. Twenty-four-year-old Israel Preciado was sentenced to 36 months of probation after a conviction for tampering with physical evidence. Prosecutors and defense attorneys structured the pleas to address both the collision and actions taken afterward, with the differing outcomes reflecting distinct charges and charges proven in court.

For Yuma residents, the case underscores the local consequences of hit-and-run collisions and the legal limits on leniency for those who leave crash scenes. The central charge - leaving the scene - carries significant custodial exposure in this plea, and the court's decision to bar probation signals a focus on punishment rather than supervised release in this instance. The victim from the April incident required hospitalization; the plea resolves the defendant's criminal exposure while the court prepares to impose the agreed sentence.

Local law enforcement and prosecutors have increasingly emphasized traffic safety in county corridors that see heavy commuter and commercial traffic. A plea of this size will likely be read by residents and officials as a reminder that abandoning an injured person at a crash can bring serious prison time, not only fines or short-term penalties. The separate probationary sentence for tampering with evidence illustrates how courts may parcel accountability across multiple actors when more than one person is involved in post-crash conduct.

The Feb. 27 sentencing will finalize Antonio's punishment and close one chapter of a case that began with a serious injury on a Yuma road. For neighbors and commuters, the outcome may influence local conversations about road safety, bystander responsibility, and how justice is meted out when collisions result in injury. The county's criminal calendar will show whether the sentence imposed aligns with the plea terms, and the result will shape expectations for similar cases moving forward.