Ga. woman fights charges in son's jaywalking death | ajc.com
Raquel Nelson, whose son was killed by a hit-and-run driver as the family crossed a street on the way home from a bus stop last year, was back in court this week.
“Nelson was charged after A.J. was struck by a van as they jaywalked across a busy five-lane road in suburban Atlanta, and the case against her sparked outrage from activists who flooded the judge’s office with letters and gathered thousands of signatures on an online petition to support her,” the AJC reported.
Nelson was charged with vehiclular homicide, but was offered a plea deal that would require her to serve a year’s probation. Her attorney originally sought a new trial, but is now asking the Georgia Court of Appeals that all the criminal charges against Nelson be dismissed. Nelson’s attorney said that prosecutors didn’t have enough evidence to charge her with a crime in connection with her son’s death.
“This was crossing the street with other people to get home,” defense attorney Steve Sadow told the three-judge panel. “It was unfortunate. And it was tragic. But that doesn’t make it a crime.”
