Bradenton man gets 13 years for 2020 fatal crash

A 20-year-old Bradenton man has been sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison in connection with a 2020 crash that killed one teenage passenger and seriously injured two others, the 12th Circuit Court announced Jan. 24.

Circuit County Judge Matt White sentenced Luke Terrence Politi Jan. 22 to 155.175 months (12.9 years) in state prison followed by two years of probation.

Politi entered an open plea in November just as jury selection in his trial was about to begin. An open plea is a guilty plea where the defendant asks the judge alone to decide the sentence without a guarantee or recommendation from prosecutors.

Politi was charged with vehicular homicide and two counts of reckless driving; causing serious bodily injury and causing damage to persons or property. 

On Dec. 4, 2020, Politi, who was then just 17, was speeding down University Parkway with three teenage passengers in his Tesla when he lost control of the vehicle, left the roadway, hit a culvert and a light pole.

The Tesla’s event data recorder showed Politi’s speed reached 126 mph moments before the crash, prosecutors said.

The car then rolled several times on the ground and came to rest upside down, Florida Highway Patrol investigators said. 

The backseat passengers, ages 15 and 16, were ejected from the vehicle and were seriously injured. The 16-year-old front seat passenger was killed. 

Lab results showed alcohol in Politi’s system, the state attorney’s office said.