WILMINGTON — A 24-year-old male pled guilty Monday to numerous criminal charges and was sentenced to a minimum of 70 months in prison.
Walter Wade Ange of Wilmington was sentenced by Judge Kent Harrell in New Hanover County Superior Court this week. Ange must serve 48 months supervised probation after his sentence and serve two nights in jail each year on the anniversary of the victim’s death during that probationary period.
READ MORE: Man arrested for hit-and-run into apartment, victim passes away from injuries
Ange was convicted of felony death by motor vehicle, felony serious injury by motor vehicle, felony hit and run causing death, felony hit and run causing injury, reckless driving to endanger, and failure to stop at a stop sign.
During the early morning of Dec. 4, 2021, Ange failed to yield a stop sign and drove through Hawthorne Commons apartment complex. He drove his vehicle into a nearby apartment building, entering the bedroom of 48-year-old Kelley Prince and her fiancé, Luis Rodrigues, who were asleep in their bed.
The impact of the crash pinned Prince between her bed and the vehicle. She was initially conscious after the crash but succumbed to her injuries at New Hanover Regional Medical Center. Rodrigues also sustained injuries.
Ange fled the scene but left his dog behind. Investigators with the Wilmington Police Department’s Traffic Unit identified Ange as a suspect but could not locate him that day. He was apprehended three days later on Dec. 7.
Based on interviews with witnesses to Ange’s behavior before and after the crash, investigators determined Ange was impaired at the time of the incident, elevating the charges to more serious motor vehicle felonies.
Tips or comments? Email info@localdailymedia.com.
Want to read more from PCD? Subscribe now and then sign up for our morning newsletter, Wilmington Wire, and get the headlines delivered to your inbox every morning.
