Litttleford testified yesterday in her trial related to the Nancy Pettigrew crash.
Littleford testified that she was coming back from a friend’s home that morning when something seemed to strike her vehicle, so she pulled over and looked out her window.
When she did not see anything, she resumed driving, Littleford testified. She said she stopped once more because her SUV was stalling, but she never got out of the vehicle or called 911. She said she knew that she had been in a crash, but she did not know with what. “I didn’t see anything,” she said.
But the jury was not convinced and it didn't take them long to reach a verdict
After deliberating for about 90 minutes, jurors in Prince George’s County Circuit Court convicted Littleford of the four most serious charges. They found her not guilty of a minor traffic charge for failing to control her speed at the time of the crash.
Littleford was found guilty of: Failure to remain at the scene of an accident that resulted in bodily harm; failure to remain at the scene of an accident that resulted in death; failure to render assistance and negligent driving. She was found not guilty of failure to control her speed to avoid a collision
Littleford is scheduled to be sentenced in August and could face up to ten years in prison.
sounds exactly right. This was the easy case. The only mysteries to me is why it took so long to bring a case, and why they didn't president evidence that Littleford was drunk/high. I suppose they didn't need to do the charges presented.
Posted by: charlie | May 25, 2012 at 07:50 AM
This is good news. It is unfortunate that she was found not guilty of failure to control her speed to avoid a collision. I wonder what the rational was? Seems to me that being able and responsible for controlling your speed to avoid a collision is fundamental in being granted the privilege to drive. Not to mention that speeding is a major problem. This sends a message that speed doesn't matter much.
Posted by: TWK | May 25, 2012 at 07:54 AM
@TWK my guess was because there was no evidence to say otherwise such as skid marks (which could be used to calculate speed) etc.
@charlie - was there any evidence? As much as one likes to assume (apparently she was coming home from a friends place) - you can't start convicting people with no proof.
Regardless I hope the sentencing isn't something ridiculous like 30~90 days.
As much as I believe this was a tragic accident on Littleford's part - one has to be held accountable for being a decent human being. Leaving someone to die on the road doesn't play well in my book regardless of the circumstances that led to it.
Posted by: Ben | May 25, 2012 at 08:10 AM
It is nice when the "I didn't see them" defense fails. That is an important outcome of this case. As Ben said, hopefully the sentencing does not unravel the sense of some justice that is taking form here.
Posted by: TWK | May 25, 2012 at 08:20 AM
@Ben
Since she was charged with failure to control her speed to avoid a collision, I would have assumed there was some evidence available. If not skid marks, I wonder if damage to the SUV would indicated excessive speed? I guess that would be a difficult determination.
Posted by: TWK | May 25, 2012 at 08:23 AM
@TWK fair point. I guess the jury wasn't convinced with the evidence the prosecution presented? I do agree though it is strange but neither you or I were at the trial.
Posted by: Ben | May 25, 2012 at 08:49 AM
@Ben; for the charges presented you don't need to show alcohol. Now, if you could prove alcohol/drug use you could probably up the charges to manslaughter. That would explain why it took so long - they were looking for evidence of alcohol use. Hard to prove, really, if it was a private residence and there are no financial receipts.
In terms of speed, isn't the point you didn't slow down and just ran over the bike? No skid marks. damage to SUV would NOT be evidence of speeding.
Posted by: charlie | May 25, 2012 at 09:10 AM
Given the implausibility of the story, it may have also taken some time for the prosecution to be sure that someone else was not behind the wheel.
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Posted by: Michael H. | May 25, 2012 at 12:09 PM
Those are pretty basic charges. I'll hold my excitement until sentencing.
Posted by: Brendan | May 25, 2012 at 02:26 PM