JEFFERSON PARISH, La. — An ice cream truck driver has pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in a case where his truck raced through a Kenner neighborhood before crashing into a home and fatally pinning a 12-year-old boy who had been playing video games just over a year ago.
Mechaul Mansoor pleaded guilty to a charge of negligent homicide on Wednesday. He won't receive any jail time.
Flores died six days after the crash, he had been brought to the ICU with a fractured skull and broken bones. His family had made the selfless decision to donate Flores' organs after the 12-year-old had been declared brain dead.
"He goes to heaven as a hero in our eyes because he is giving the best gift that can be in this earth, the gift of life thru becoming an organ donor,” said a statement on the GoFundMe page established last year.
Mansoor initially entered a plea of not guilty last November.
Last May, Kenner Police said that Mansoor claimed the van suddenly accelerated and the gas pedal was stuck, but a court-certified mechanic performed a forensic exam on the van, and determined that never happened.
Had Mansoor been convicted of negligent homicide, he could have faced up to 5 years in prison. The judge sentenced him to 3 years probation.
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