Tesla driver gets six years in prison for killing Omaha pedestrian

Until Siles’ mental health issues left him homeless, Martha Andrade told a courtroom of listeners that her brother was “a very sweet young man” who doted on Martha and Emily’s children, gave hugs to family members and lit up rooms with his “beautiful smile.”

As Siles’ family waited for him to get better, Martha Andrade made a copy of her brother’s ID card “just in case” something happened to him, she said in Douglas County District Court Judge Peter Bataillon’s courtroom Thursday.

That scenario came to pass on Dec. 17, 2025, when Siles was crossing Cuming Street on foot near the 44th Street intersection shortly before 8 a.m. He was struck by a rental Tesla driven by 27-year-old Jakylon Larry of Omaha.

Siles eventually died from his injuries after being taken by Omaha Fire Department medics to the Nebraska Medical Center.

Larry didn’t stop, drove away and ultimately ditched the car by a dumpster near 37th and Dodge Streets — about 1½ miles away from the scene. Police identified and arrested Larry in early January.

For the felonies of failing to stop after hitting a person and falsely identifying himself when contacted by an Omaha police investigator, Bataillon sentenced Larry to six years in prison. Larry had pleaded no contest to both. 

At the time of the crash, Larry was driving east along Cuming Street at 44 mph, Bataillon said. The speed limit in that section is 35 mph. The crash was captured on video.

Larry’s attorney, Timothy Ashford, said Larry didn’t initially realize he hit Siles. Instead, Ashford said, Larry thought he hit an inanimate object like a brick. Ashford attributed Lakylon’s decision to flee and then subsequently gave a false identity to police as one motivated by fear.

“He was scared. He was young,” Ashford said. “He made a number of mistakes.”

Deputy Douglas County Attorney Lindsey Grove threw cold water on Larry’s claims. Grove said the Tesla had significant front-end damage that indicated Larry knew he had hit Siles. She also called Larry’s decision to continue driving unreasonable, as others stopped to help Siles.

“A reasonable person … would have stopped,” Grove said.

Larry twice apologized to Siles’ family, including Martha and Emily Andrade, in court.

“I’m truly sorry,” Larry said as he reiterated that he had not seen Siles crossing the street prior to the collision.

Bataillon, in sentencing Larry, noted Larry’s criminal history.

That history includes a conviction for shoplifting in 2024 and subsequently violating parole. Larry also falsely identified himself to a law enforcement officer in 2024. The officer, according to an affidavit, investigated Larry as part of a group of people who had reportedly used a laser pointer that was aimed at a commercial flight.

“You are just one little criminal machine,” Bataillon told Larry as he urged Larry to change his life lest he wants to spend most of it in prison.

Bataillon said that, under Nebraska’s good time law, Larry could be released from prison in three years. Bataillon gave Larry credit for having already served 226 days toward his sentence.

As Larry sits in prison, Siles’ family is left to pick up the pieces left by Siles' death.

“All we have now are his drawings that he left behind,” Martha Andrade said.

Omaha pedestrian killed by Tesla in hit-and-run in midtown identified