CLEVELAND — Editor's note: The video in the player above is from a previous reporting of this story, published on October 10, 2019.
On Wednesday, a Cuyahoga County judge sentenced the woman who struck and killed a construction worker on I-71 in October 2019 to 10 to 12 years in prison.
Sabra Tolliver, 33, hit and killed 61-year-old Rafael Solis, and also hit another worker, on October 9, 2019, near Snow Road in Middleburg Heights. The 25-year-old victim survived but was badly injured as a result of the incident.
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“This victim was working on his birthday to provide for his family,” said Prosecutor O’Malley. “He was tragically killed, and another victim was seriously injured, due to this individual’s selfish actions. Our thoughts remain with the victims’ families, friends, and coworkers.”
Solis was dragged underneath Tolliver's car more than 1,200 feet before she came to a stop. She then accelerated and fled the scene with other construction workers following her, heading to the Chipotle on Bagley Road in Middleburg Heights.
At the time of her arrest, the woman denied hitting anyone with her car and one officer said they believed to have smelt alcohol on her. A blood alcohol concentration test after the incident found that Tolliver had twice the legal limit of alcohol in her system, as well as cannabinoids.
Tolliver pleaded guilty to the following charges:
- One count of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide
- One count of Aggravated Vehicular Assault
- One count of Failure To Stop After Accident
- One count of Driving While Under the Influence