Man sentenced to 40 years for 2013 crash that killed 2

Mother of one of the young people killed feels justice was done

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A man charged in connection with a 2013 crash that killed two people and critically injured two more was sentenced to 40 years in prison Thursday in St. Johns County Court.

Hosston Bishop, 24, was convicted of two counts of vehicular homicide and two counts of reckless driving. He dropped and shook his head after the sentence was handed down for the accident which resulted in the deaths of Alyssa Nearbin, 20, and Joey Stevens, 24.

Bishop was sentenced to 15 years on each of the vehicular homicide charges and five years each on the reckless driving charges, which will run consecutively.

"Justice!" Ginny Stevens, Joey's mother, said as she left court. "Very happy with the outcome of it."

State troopers said Bishop was driving an SUV carrying five people about 1:30 a.m. March 28, 2013 when he lost control and ran off the road at the corner of County Road 208 and County Road 13A South and hit some trees.

In addition to the deaths of Nearbin and Stevens, Dylan Charles, 21, and Erin Aderhold, 18, were flown to a hospital in critical condition. Bishop was hospitalized with minor injuries.

The families of the victims asked the judge for the maximum sentence, saying Hosston did not behave remorsefully after the crash.

"All we wanted was the truth. All you had to do you own it," said Michael Nearbin, Alyssa's father.

The prosecutor in this case asked for 40 years in prison instead of the maximum sentence. He mentioned that Hosston had a long sheet of crime, has several traffic violations -- his license has been suspended several times -- and was even arrested for burglary committed after the fatal crash.

Before the sentencing, Shannon Sapp, Bishop’s mother, asked for the judge’s mercy so Bishop can see his children sooner. 

"I just pray that my son can come home and be there for his children and them (learn) from his own life lessons," Sapp said.

Bishop will get credit for 455 days he has already served in prison. He has 30 days from Thursday to appeal the decision. Bishop is currently serving five years in prison for unrelated burglary charges.

Bishop told investigators he didn't remember anything about the crash, which was part of the delay in him being charged, troopers said. They said they weren't able to speak to the surviving victims for a long time.


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