BATON ROUGE — The family of a woman killed in a hit-and-run on Plank Road says prosecutors did not listen to them before agreeing to a plea deal in the case.

Family members of 22-year-old LaDerica Stewart said they wanted the case to go to trial instead of ending with a plea deal for Ty'Quencia Harris.

"We wanted it to go to trial and we told them that," said Marci Ruiz, Stewart's stepmother. "They're not hearing us at all."

Harris was given a 10-year sentence cap in exchange for pleading guilty to manslaughter.

"She gets to go home after 10 years or even less and go see her kids...and get to see those milestones. LaDerica's child cannot," Ruiz said.

District Attorney Hillar Moore said his office was unsure they could secure a conviction at trial because they could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Harris was behind the wheel. She had a passenger in the car with her.

"I understand the victim's family can be upset and wanting more time, but this is a case that is circumstantial. We have to make sure that we have all of our facts and can prove all of the facts in the case. In this case, identity was an issue," said Moore.

Police say Harris was driving an SUV 12 mph over the speed limit on Plank Road when she hit a group of four people including Stewart as they crossed the road around 3:15 a.m. She then left the scene and reportedly brought the car to an auto shop, claiming the damage happened when she hit a deer.

Moore says video taken three to five minutes before the crash shows what looks like Harris in the driver's seat, but it is blurry and doesn't prove she was the one driving at the moment of impact. 

Additionally, a witness who claimed to see Harris driving later admitted to prosecutors that she was heavily intoxicated at the time.

Harris was ultimately arrested on two counts of hit-and-run driving and obstruction of justice. A grand jury later indicted her for manslaughter.

While on bond, Harris was arrested again for allegedly punching a woman in the face and was charged with second-degree battery. That charge was dismissed as part of the plea deal.

She also has a criminal history. Court records show Harris was arrested for attempted second-degree murder in 2019. She was formally charged with aggravated assault and pleaded guilty in 2021, receiving one year of unsupervised probation.

When asked why prosecutors went against the family's wishes to go to trial, Moore said:

"Because we represent the state of Louisiana, not the people, but we always consider what the victim's position is. In this case, given the sentence that is the potential sentence, the one that we negotiated, we thought as a matter of protecting the public and public safety that it was the appropriate thing to do."

As part of the plea agreement, Judge Fred Crifasi can throw out the deal at sentencing and order a trial if he feels the 10-year sentence is not long enough. Sentencing is scheduled for January.