There's an update on this fatal crash from January. Her hearing was postponed, but I'm not sure why.
Twenty-four-year-old Nadine Rager (RAG'-er) of Hagerstown was charged in March, about six weeks after the hit-and-run collision that killed 47-year-old John Bushman. A hearing scheduled for Tuesday in Hagerstown has been reset for Aug. 24.
Rager is charged with manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident and unlawful text messaging.
And the story from when she was charged.
A Washington County Circuit Court grand jury has issued an eight-count indictment against a Hagerstown woman on charges ranging from vehicular manslaughter to texting while driving in the Jan. 29 death of a bicyclist on West Washington Street.
Assistant State's Attorney Leon Debes told Wright that Bushman and Rager were both heading west when the crash occurred. Rager, who was driving her boyfriend's 2010 Mazda 3, fled the scene without stopping, he said.
It was not until about 15 minutes later that another passer-by spotted Bushman's body lying by the road. The collision left pieces of the car behind, and a local dealership was able to identify the make and model of the car, Debes said.
Investigators determined that Rager was out buying spice, or synthetic marijuana, and that she smoked some of the drug with a friend before dropping that person off prior to the crash, Debes alleged.
There is also surveillance video that captured images of the Mazda being driven faster than other vehicles and not staying in its lane, he said.
"She was texting while she was driving, as well," Debes told Wright.
Although Rager initially told investigators she was unaware she had struck a person, Debes noted there was a dent on the hood of the car where Bushman's body landed and a cracked windshield.
Rager was indicted on charges of negligent manslaughter by vehicle; criminally negligent manslaughter by vehicle; failure to immediately stop at the scene of an accident involving serious injury or death; failure to immediately return and remain at the scene of an accident involving serious injury or death; failure to render aid at the scene of an accident involving serious injury or death; using a text messaging device while driving and causing an accident resulting in serious injury or death; texting while operating a vehicle and negligent driving.
Not to bury the lede, but
Rager's previous record includes a probation before judgment for driving while suspended and using a handheld telephone while driving, he said.
Those charges were filed in 2014, but the pleas were entered on Feb. 5, a week after Bushman's death, according to Washington County District Court records.
Online court records indicated she also has an earlier conviction for using a handheld telephone while driving.
I wonder if the media will focus on the drug use, or the texting.
Posted by: SJE | June 17, 2015 at 08:55 PM