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Fatal hit-and-run suspect's smiling Facebook post stirs anger

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — The daughter of a Gastonia woman killed in a hit-and-run said the suspect's recent Facebook post adds insult to injury.

Wanda Hearns was killed in October when 21-year-old Katie Montgomery drove off Court Drive in Gastonia, hit Hearns, and kept going.

Montgomery received a three-month sentence.

Brittany Bowen, Hearns' daughter, said she has forgiven Montgomery and understands why she got a three-month sentence, but she is disappointed at the post Montgomery made before she started her sentence on Tuesday.

The picture of Montgomery smiling has a caption that reads: "Goodbye Facebook. See you in two months."

It includes the date and time that Montgomery will be released from the first leg of her short sentence. She will have to return to finish the final month at a later date.

"Why are you smiling? Do you really understand what you did to my family?” Bowen said.

Montgomery is also smiling in the mug shot provided by authorities.

Bowen thinks the sentence should include a visit to her mother's grave.

"I feel like my mom deserves an apology too," Bowen said.

After Montgomery finishes her three-month sentence, she will have four years of probation. If she violates probation, she will have to serve her full sentence, which is a minimum of two years in prison.

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