A judge sentenced a white Virginia Beach man to five years in prison Monday for the 2023 hit-and-run that left a Black chef from Norfolk critically injured and the driver jailed amid allegations of racism.
Grant Hensley was convicted of hitting Elliott Boddie in the parking lot of Stooges Bar and Grill on Timberlake Drive in Virginia Beach in September 2023.
The collision left Boddie with multiple broken bones and torn knee ligaments and required staples for deep gashes on his head and chin.
Hensley fled the scene, leading to charges of felony hit-and-run, felony malicious wounding, and driving under the influence, according to court documents.
Despite allegations that Hensley used racial slurs against Black patrons in the bar before running over Boddie, he was never charged with a hate crime.
Over the past year, there has also been no indication of a federal investigation into Hensley’s actions.
The judge in the case suspended five years of a 10-year sentence, leaving Hensley with five years to serve behind bars, according to WVEC 13 News.
The judge also did not issue a term of probation, but prosecutors seemed satisfied with the punishment.
“We are glad the judge imposed the high end of the guidelines of five years, however we did ask for a sentence of six years to serve, which was the maximum sentence under the plea agreement,” a spokesperson for the Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office told the station.
Boddie still has not fully recovered, but he’s out of the neck brace and able to walk.
He limped out of a Virginia Beach courtroom on Monday after Hensley’s sentencing, expressing a sense that justice was served, though he remains uncertain when, or if, his physical and emotional strength will fully return.
“Mentally, it’s been a challenge. Physically it’s been a challenge, but I just keep going, I keep pushing,” Boddie told the station.
Last September, Boddie said from his hospital bed that he felt “my body flying through the air” after Hensley gunned the engine of his car and hit him head on.
After that, everything went dark for Boddie, leaving him unable to recall what triggered the confrontation.
The unconscious man was rushed to the hospital, where he received emergency surgery for multiple critical injuries, including several broken bones, a busted knee, and 11 staples to the back of his head.
Witnesses claimed that Hensley also used racial slurs moments before hitting Boddie with his car, court records said.
Hensley told law enforcement that he was trying to run from an altercation when he jumped into his vehicle, claiming that Boddie “walked in front of his car,” telling police that “it was their fault they got hit.”
Witnesses at the scene claimed Hensley called Black bar patrons racial slurs and continued to use them in the parking lot before mowing down Boddie.
One witness believed Hensley deliberately hit Boddie, stating that he “was doing circles in the parking lot, veering toward him.”
The commotion outside was captured by surveillance cameras inside the bar, showing a white sedan speeding back and forth through the parking lot as a Boddie lay motionless on the pavement.
That’s when bar owner Chris White said he called 911.
Moments earlier, Hensley was captured on camera inside the bar, appearing uninvolved in any dispute, however, witnesses reported that this was when Hensley began berating the Black patrons with racial slurs.
After authorities tracked him down, he attempted to shift the blame, saying, “I removed the threat from my path” — referring to Boddie.
During the sentencing hearing, Boddie gave a victim impact statement and afterward recounted the challenge of confronting the person who ran him over.
“Actually seeing him face-to-face, you know, it kinda took an emotional toll on me,” he admitted. “Like, what did I do to this person?”
Boddie was not bitter about his ordeal, saying he has emerged stronger while gaining perspective from what happened to him.
“I just want to put it all behind me and start the healing process,” he said.
