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Police: Driver who killed 12-year-old boy never had a valid license, continued to drive recklessly

Posted at 4:56 PM, Apr 24, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-24 23:05:26-04

News 5 has uncovered shocking new details about a Cleveland woman who admitted to hitting and killing a 12-year-old boy in East Cleveland and then leaving the scene of the crash. 

A News 5 investigation revealed that she's been putting others in danger ever since. 

Starlesha Lewis admitted to killing 12-year-old Ameer Mitchell with her car and, afterward, bragged on social media about driving and getting into other crashes. 

RELATED: Driver charged with vehicular homicide with a suspended license posts pictures of herself driving

But Lewis should have never been behind the wheel at all because she has never had a valid driver's license. 

It's been one month since News 5's Megan Hickey talked to Mitchell's grieving mother, Navetta Clark. She was horrified to see that the woman charged with hitting and killing her 12-year-old boy was posting about driving and getting into other crashes while out on bond for aggravated vehicular homicide. 

Lewis wouldn't talk to us, so News 5 forwarded the posts to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office.

Since then, prosecutors were able to prove that Lewis was not only driving without ever having a license, but she's also been driving recklessly. 

She's been pulled over on three separate occasions and even arrested since Ameer's death.

  • On Aug. 10, 2016, Lewis struck and killed Ameer Mitchell. Knowing she hit the 12-year-old, she fled the scene anyway. 
  • On Aug. 11, 2016, Lewis turned herself into the East Cleveland Police Department and admitted to hitting Ameer. 
  • On Aug. 15, 2016, the judge gave Lewis a $25,000 surety bond, meaning she was free to go as long as she obeyed the rules of her bond. 
  • On Nov. 10, 2016, the Willoughby Police Department cited Lewis for driving 89 mph in a 60 mph zone. 
  • On Nov. 29, 2016, the Cleveland Police Department cited Lewis for driving with a temporary permit without a licensed driver and turning at intersections. 
  • On Dec. 15, 2016, the Lyndhurst Police Department cited Lewis for driving with a temporary permit and a red light infraction. 
  • In January 2017, the Ohio Department of Motor Vehicles suspended Lewis' temporary license due to the traffic infractions in November. 
  • On March 16, 2017, Lewis was involved in a two-car crash in Cleveland.

First, she was pulled over by Willoughby Hills police, where she was speeding and even charged with giving a fake name. Police said she was going 89 mph in a 60 mph zone. 

WATCH: Flaws in the system

"She was arrested and charged with falsification, which is a first-degree misdemeanor, no license and the speeding violation," said Willoughby Hills Police Chief Christopher Collins.

He said they didn't even know about Lewis' previous arrest. That's because, since the charge is pending, it doesn't show up in their system.

"Normally it's just cases that have been adjudicated through the traffic courts already," Chief Collins said. 

Then, she was pulled over by Cleveland police in the same month. 

MORE: Suspected hit and run driver with suspended license who posted pictures driving remains out on bond

Then again, in December, she was pulled over by Lyndhurst police for blowing a red light. Mayfield police even towed her car. But, unbelievably, the whole time, Lewis' bond was never revoked and she kept driving. 

But that's not the end of it.

According to court records, it wasn't until January that the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles officially suspended her temporary permit. 

Still, Lewis kept driving. 

According to an accident report, Lewis was involved in a crash on March 13. That's when she posted photos on Instagram with the text: "Got into a Car Accident but she Got me if nobody else do." 

Ameer's family doesn't understand why she hasn't stopped driving. 

On Monday, prosecutors made a motion to revoke Lewis' bond but the judge opted for a GPS monitoring system instead. 

Clark says it's better than seeing her on the streets. 

"Keep her in the house, keep her off the streets, keep our kids safe at this point," she said, "because that's what it's about. It's about our safety because her behind the wheel of a car is dangerous." 

The terms of Lewis' bond have specifically been updated to say she cannot drive. 

Ameer's family said that should have been implicit, since she's never had a license.