A hit-and-run driver who killed 3-month-old Apolline Mong-Guillemin and horribly injured her parents weakly apologized before a Brooklyn judge sentenced him to nine years behind bars Wednesday.
Tyrik Mott, 30, hugged his loved ones right before his sentencing in Brooklyn Supreme Court in the 2021 death of little Apolline, who he struck and killed as her parents walked her in her stroller on a Clinton Hill sidewalk. Mott had a long history of traffic violations — and the case raised questions about why he was still in a position to drive.
“I’m just sorry for everything I did,” he told Judge Danny Chun, his voice betraying no emotion. “I’m sorry for all the hurt I caused. I really didn’t mean it.”
Just before the proceedings started, Mott realized he was still wearing his AirPods. He took them out of his ears and handed them to a woman in the gallery, along with his phone, to a relative.
Prosecutors had asked for 15 years, but the court offered nine when he took a plea deal in March.
Mott’s loved ones declined comment outside the courtroom Wednesday.
Mott tried to have his sentencing delayed, but when Chun asked for a reason to push it back, his lawyer, James Kirshner, had none to give.
Mott had no business being behind the wheel of his 2017 Honda Civic the day of the Sept. 11, 2021 crash.
His car had been involved in 160 traffic violations since 2017, including 35 camera tickets for speeding in school zones and seven for failing to stop at red lights in 2021 alone. His driver’s license was suspended at the time of the crash.
He was going the wrong way on Gates Ave. when he slammed into a 2020 Honda Civic at Vanderbilt Ave. about 6:20 p.m.
Both cars jumped the curb, slamming into Apolline in her stroller, her mother and her father. Apolline died of her injuries, and her parents, Julien Mong and Marion Guillemin, needed surgery, according to a lawsuit filed against the city by the parents last year.
Her mother, Marlon Guillemin was so badly hurt she was…
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