Hit-and-run driver pleads no contest

PANAMA CITY — A Panama City Beach woman pleaded no contest Friday to charges stemming from a hit-and-run crash that killed a Panama City motorcyclist.

Ida Renee Cardwell, 35, pleaded to leaving the scene of an accident involving death and tampering with evidence. The plea was made without an agreement with prosecutors on a sentence. Judge Brantley Clark can sentence her to up to 30 years for the crash and up to five years for the evidence tampering.

On May 24, 2013, 21-year-old Ethan Casey pulled out of Bingo Paradise in front of westbound traffic on U.S. 98 near the intersection with Harrison Avenue. Cardwell struck Casey’s motorcycle from behind and kept driving, according to records.

After the crash, Cardwell removed parts of the Camaro she was driving and threw them in separate trash cans near and at her home on Anne Avenue in Panama City Beach to conceal evidence of the crash from investigators.

She was arrested three days after the crash when police found her in a recreational vehicle at her boyfriend’s home in Panama City. Her boyfriend also was arrested after police said he gave them false information during the investigation.

Clark scheduled a sentencing hearing for Feb. 6.