'Party Princess' Karlie Tomica released from prison on Christmas

Woman pleaded guilty to hit-and-run crash that killed South Beach chef in 2013

Karlie Tomica, the self-proclaimed "Party Princess" who pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter in a fatal hit-and-run crash in 2013, was released from prison on Christmas.

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – A woman who killed a South Beach chef in a hit-and-run crash in 2013 was released from prison on Christmas Day.

Karlie Tomica, now 24, was released from prison Sunday after serving about three years and four months on a four-year prison sentence for DUI manslaughter, according to a Florida Department of Corrections inmate database.

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Stefano Riccioletti, executive chef at Terrazza at the Shore Club, was killed after leaving work Jan. 28, 2013.

The self-proclaimed "Party Princess" pleaded guilty in August 2013.

"I killed him that morning," Tomica said in court during her sentencing hearing. "I had been drinking while I was at work. I got very drunk. I hit him with my car and I killed him."

Police credited a good Samaritan who called 911 and followed the car that struck Riccioletti with helping them make an arrest.

Tomica, who was 20 at the time of the crash, worked as a bartender at the popular South Beach club Nikki Beach.

Under the terms of her plea deal, Tomica's driver's license was permanently revoked.


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Peter Burke returned for a second stint of duty at Local 10 News in February 2014.

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