VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A plea agreement was denied Wednesday for a man accused of killing two people in a 2018 crash while leaving the Ocoee Founders’ Day Festival.
Tammer Mansour faces vehicular manslaughter charges stemming from the crash.
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In court Wednesday, state prosecutors and the defense initially came to an agreement for Mansour to plead no contest to one count of leaving the scene of a fatal crash. In exchange, the state was prepared to drop vehicular homicide charges and recommend Mansour serve a four year prison sentence, as well as 20 years of probation.
Following impact statements from several family members of the victims, however, the judge said she took issue with the agreement and did not accept the recommended resolution. According to the judge, the trial could be reset or an alternative plea deal could be reached with input from the victims’ families, but nothing was set in stone Wednesday for how the case will move forward.
Records show that on Nov. 2, 2018, Mansour was driving his girlfriend’s Lincoln Aviator as the two were leaving the festival when he struck Richard Giannazzo, 54, and Diana Cole, 55, who had also attended the event and were walking on Silver Star Road.
The Ocoee Police Department said Mansour sped off after the crash until he was forced to stop by witnesses flagging him down. Police said Mansour ditched the Lincoln in a parking lot and ran from the scene without helping the two victims.
“The noises and whatnot — it was things you couldn’t even imagine,” witness Chris LaBrie told News 6 several days after the crash. “Seeing some of the gruesome images every time you close your eyes, it doesn’t really go away. You know, some things can’t be unseen.”
The vehicle was located nearby and had obvious signs of damage to its front end and windshield and the speedometer was stuck at 78 mph, according to a police report.
Giannazzo, a Marine veteran, and Cole both died as a result of the crash.
Mansour was released on bond but was arrested again in 2021 on a DUI charge in Daytona Beach Shores.