TAMPA — A Plant City man who ran over an 80-year-old pedestrian and left him to die last year entered guilty pleas in the hit-and-run case Wednesday and was given 10 years in prison.
Ryan S. Pottinger, 30, was also sentenced to a decade of probation after state prison.Hillsborough County deputies said Pottinger was behind the wheel of the Ford Ranger pickup that hit Santiago Sanchez-Lopez in 2013 as he was crossing the road in front of his home on Sydney Dover Road.
Deputies said Pottinger drove off. Several days later, tips from the public led deputies to Pottinger, who was arrested on a charge of leaving the scene of an accident involving a death, a felony for which he could have faced as many as 30 years in prison. He was also charged with driving with a revoked license.
He pleaded guilty to both counts. As part of the plea deal, Pottinger will not be allowed to drive once he’s out on probation. He will be required to complete 100 hours of community service and pay $5,320 for the victim’s funeral expenses.