Man sentenced to 3 years in prison for deadly St. Johns County hit-and-run

Timothy Thompson pleaded guilty to hit & run death of James Allen Sr.

St. Johns County Sheriff's Office booking photo of Timothy Thompson (left) and photo of James Allen Sr. (right)

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – After a guilty plea, a man was sentenced Wednesday to prison after a deadly hit-and-run on U.S. 1 in January 2017.

A judge handed down a three year sentence to Timothy Thompson, who pleaded guilty in the hit-and-run death of James Allen Sr, 81, who was killed while walking along the highway near the St. Augustine airport.

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His son told News4Jax that Allen Sr. was a veteran and avid fisher, as well as a valued member of his church and the community. He also said that Allen Sr. was having health problems and suffered from dementia.

According to the arrest report, Thompson struck Allen while driving north on U.S. 1, a passenger in the vehicle was jolted awake by the impact and Thompson told him he had hit a deer.

After dropping the passenger off, according to the report, Thompson hid his car.

A jail inmate who had been Thompson's cellmate in late 2017 told corrections officers he had information in the case. A Florida Highway Patrol investigator said he met with the inmate, who told him where to find Thompson's vehicle.

The vehicle was located and processed, and evidence developed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement produced the arrest warrant for Thompson.