Shane Russel Wilson of West Des Moines, Iowa, has pleaded no contest in a Vero Beach truck crash that killed one woman and injured another, sidestepping a trial that had been set to start this week in the 19th Judicial Circuit. Wilson entered the plea on Monday to a single count of leaving the scene of an accident causing death and is now scheduled for sentencing on June 12, 2026.
According to court documents and reporting by WPBF 25 News, prosecutors have filed papers asking a judge to hand Wilson a 30-year state prison sentence. Under the plea terms reflected in court records, he would face a minimum of four years in Florida state prison. Before taking the no-contest deal, Wilson had been charged with multiple counts, including two counts of DUI damage to property and persons and DUI manslaughter.
What the law says
Florida law requires any driver involved in a crash that causes injury or death to stop and remain at the scene, and willfully leaving can be treated as a felony. Section 316.027 of the Florida Statutes spells out what drivers must do after a serious crash and the criminal penalties for failing to comply. Penalties vary by degree, but leaving the scene of a crash that results in death exposes a driver to significant prison time under state law.
How the crash unfolded
Investigators say the crash happened in Vero Beach’s Ixora Park neighborhood around 1:15 a.m. on February 27, 2021, when a Ford pickup driven by Wilson reportedly swerved after another vehicle and then slammed into a house, pinning two people inside. Authorities identified one victim as Maria Zeledon, who died that evening at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center in Fort Pierce. Another person inside the home was critically injured.
Witness accounts and an initial Florida Highway Patrol report stated that Wilson ran from the scene on foot and was later caught by an Indian River County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit, as first reported in 2021 by WPBF 25 News. Wilson had been under house arrest in Iowa following earlier proceedings in the case and was re-arrested in March when the case moved forward again. His formal sentencing hearing is set for June 12, 2026, in the 19th Judicial Circuit, where prosecutors will formally present their recommendation and the judge will decide his final punishment. The no-contest plea takes a jury trial off the calendar but still leaves Wilson facing a potentially lengthy state prison term if the court signs off on the 30-year request.
