GUILTY GA - A.J. Nelson, 4, killed in hit & run, Marietta, 10 April 2010

MsFacetious · Jul 23, 2011

A Marietta mother may serve more time than the driver who hit and killed her 4-year-old son.

She was jaywalking. There wasn't a crosswalk for a half a mile.

Convicted of:

Homicide by vehicle in the second degree
Crossing roadway elsewhere than at crosswalk
Reckless conduct

No reduction in charges.

Faces 3 years when sentenced July 26th.

The driver who admitted hitting the child pled guilty to hit-and-run and served a 6-month sentence.

He had two previous hit and run convictions, had been drinking, was on painkillers and was blind in one eye.

Originally charged with:

Hit and run
First degree homicide by vehicle
Cruelty to children.

Charges were reduced to just the hit and run charge.

http://www.ajc.com/news/cobb/pedestrian-convicted-of-vehicular-1014879.html

During the hearing, Nelson claimed she and her children were waiting on the median to cross the busy four-lane road when her son ran out into traffic.

Residents at the family's apartment block have long complained that the road is dangerous, saying the nearest crosswalk is half-a-mile away.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...n-crossed-road-wrong-place--died-hit-run.html

No, they didn't put in another cross walk closer for those who are wondering the obvious.

MsFacetious · Jul 23, 2011

May 2010 -

On Nov. 17, 2008, a mother crossed South Cobb Drive outside a crosswalk with four children in tow.

A driver struck and killed the woman’s 4-year-old daughter.

The driver wasn’t charged but -- in an unusual prosecution -- the mother was.

Altamesa Walker of Marietta is scheduled to face trial on involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct charges later this month.

http://www.ajc.com/news/jaywalkers-take-deadly-risks-527488.html

I haven't seen and cannot find any updates to this story.
Apparently nobody else can either because it's not included in any of the articles that mention it.

She was only facing a year if I remember correctly. Maybe it was a year on each charge.

RLynne · Jul 23, 2011

Interesting blog post about the story here: http://t4america.org/blog/2011/07/18/prosecuting-the-victim-absolving-the-perpetrators/

Mamabear1963 · Jul 23, 2011

Just read through this...I can hardly believe it...no words....(maybe this jury should have been in FL last month.

MsFacetious · Jul 23, 2011

If anyone happens upon a picture of little A.J. please post it. I haven't found one.

See, I just don't understand this one.

A 7 month old baby drowned here a few days ago.

She was left in "7 to 12 inches of water" while her mother was gone for "about 5 minutes" to get clothes.

7 months.

7+ inches of water.

5 minutes.

It has been deemed a "tragic accident." The cops feel awful for the family.

Beat a 2 year old to death while her Dad serves our country...

Live your life as if nothing happened.

But crossing the street in the wrong place...
Not walking 3 young kids an extra half mile in the dark, to the crosswalk...
Then a half mile back to the apartment...

Now that's homicide :waitasec:

Melanie · Jul 23, 2011

MsFacetious said:
I just don't understand this one.

A 7 month old baby drowned here a few days ago.
She was left in "7 to 12 inches of water" while her mother was gone for "about 5 minutes" to get clothes.

7 months.

5 minutes.

It has been deemed a "tragic accident." The cops feel awful for the family.

Beat a 2 year old to death while her Dad serves our country...

Live your life as if nothing happened.

But crossing the street in the wrong place...
Not walking 3 young kids an extra half mile in the dark, to the crosswalk...
Then a half mile back to the apartment...

Now that's homicide :waitasec:

When I saw this post, I read it, read it again...READ IT AGAIN. I swore that my eyes were playing tricks on me, maybe I had a stroke and was reading backwards. Scared me for a second. Because it should read:

DUI Driver convicted of Homicide After Pedestrian's Son is killed.

Seriously? Why isn't this man in prison? I don't care where she was walking - he was DRUNK. What if the family was on the sidewalk? Would he still get off?

I'm so flippin mad right now I can't believe it. I'm sorry that they jaywalked - I get it. But as a driver I'm responsible for knowing what's in front of my car at all times. Whether that's another car, a dog, a cat, or a human, it's MY responsibility.

MOOOOO

Mel

SunnieRN · Jul 23, 2011

MsFacetious said:
If anyone happens upon a picture of little A.J. please post it. I haven't found one.

See, I just don't understand this one.

A 7 month old baby drowned here a few days ago.

She was left in "7 to 12 inches of water" while her mother was gone for "about 5 minutes" to get clothes.

7 months.

7+ inches of water.

5 minutes.

It has been deemed a "tragic accident." The cops feel awful for the family.

Beat a 2 year old to death while her Dad serves our country...

Live your life as if nothing happened.

But crossing the street in the wrong place...
Not walking 3 young kids an extra half mile in the dark, to the crosswalk...
Then a half mile back to the apartment...

Now that's homicide :waitasec:

I am amazed and angry, that a court could give a drunk driver, with PREVIOUS convictions 6 months for murdering a child while drunk, whereas a Mother, who had few options for crossing a dangerous road, could be sentenced to 3 years in jail.

This not only makes NO sense what so ever, but I find it nauseating to think this can occur.

This poor family. Not only going through grief and anger, but for a Mom to have to go through prosecution. SHAME upon the city, county, judge and prosecutor in the case.

MsFacetious · Jul 23, 2011

I really thought I had read it wrong or it had been worded wrong. :banghead:

There is a facebook page, they don't have media contacts on there yet. Just political.

Does anyone have a facebook that they can post to contact Nancy, Jane, Dr Drew, Anderson Cooper... and possibly how to contact them if that person already has that information...
I think Nancy could go either way but I think the other three would see this as absurd as well.

Even though there is the obvious Caylee contrast... It wouldn't hurt to throw in the contrast example of Juliette (links in my signature.)

Links to the 7 month old I mentioned previously, whether she was taken off life support, is unclear.
Apparently Mom "stepped out to take a phone call and gather clothes."

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=16450680&autostart=y

http://www.fox13now.com/news/local/...nderwater-in-bath-tub-20110720,0,898973.story

Feel free to take anything from any of my posts. It's all yours.

Help Raquel Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Help-Raquel-Nelson/151286458281430?sk=wall

momtective · Jul 25, 2011

MARIETTA, Ga. -- A mother who could serve more jail time for jaywalking than the man who killed her 4-year-old son in a hit-and-run accident tried to come to grips with that brutal reality in an emotional interview with TODAY's Ann Curry on Monday.

Raquel Nelson, 30, faces up to three years in prison after being convicted July 12 of second-degree vehicular homicide, reckless conduct, and failure to use a crosswalk during an incident that occurred on the night of April 10, 2010.

Jerry Guy, a man who had two prior hit-and-run convictions, struck the family with his van as they were crossing, killing 4-year-old A.J. Nelson in the process.

Guy served a six-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to a hit-and-run and was released on Oct. 29. He is currently serving five years of probation. Nelson faces up to 36 months in jail when she is sentenced at a hearing on Tuesday.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/...ces-Jail-after-Son-4-Died-Jaywalking-with-Her

http://www.change.org/petitions/cob...qOpXUwpLLj_xZakdmLHiw&utm_source=action_alert

JBounds · Jul 25, 2011

Yeah, I've followed this awhile and would have never thought she would actually be sentenced. I can't believe Guy only got six months. Crazy.

momtective · Jul 25, 2011

Shows map of home and highway.

http://t4america.org/blog/2011/07/18/prosecuting-the-victim-absolving-the-perpetrators/

Donjeta · Jul 25, 2011

Through his lawyer, Guy admitted at the time to having consumed alcohol earlier in the day while also on pain medication. Guy also is also partially blind in one eye, and had two prior hit-and-run convictions on his record that both occurred on Feb. 17, 1997. He received a two-year prison sentence but was released in less than a year for those convictions.

He got off easy. Does he still drive?

momtective · Jul 25, 2011

I will be outraged if Raquel Nelson is actually sentenced to jail. But outrage after the fact is worthless, so now is the time to speak up, please don't wait until it's too late.
This woman has lost her child and will live with that for the rest of her life. I just can't believe the hell she has been put through in the name of the law. :doh:

Kaybug · Jul 25, 2011

USA Justice = Insanity at it's finest.

Donjeta · Jul 25, 2011

http://www.grist.org/infrastructure/2011-07-20-when-design-kills-the-criminalization-of-walking

momtective · Jul 25, 2011

Donjeta said:
http://www.grist.org/infrastructure/2011-07-20-when-design-kills-the-criminalization-of-walking

From your link

So why don't we design streets for the reality of human needs and behavior? Why is there so little interest in making it possible for humans to cross in the places where we know that they are going to cross? Why does the Congress want to take money away from pedestrian facilities?

Why is normal, instinctive pedestrian activity criminalized?

Why do we care so little about people like Raquel Nelson and her children? Why do we care so little about ourselves?

I wish I had an answer.

So if Raquel is sentenced to jail, who picks up the tab to support her children...the State of course! As if her family hasn't been tortured enough already, if she is jailed her family will be torn apart. He other children were surely traumatized by witnessing the death of their little brother and now they will be further traumatized if their mother is jailed.
I'm am losing faith in our legal/jury system.

Mamabear1963 · Jul 25, 2011

Is there any way for the Judge to have mercy

mywarmbluefleece · Jul 25, 2011

That's horrible. The sidewalk was a half a mile away. That's a mile round trip. With a 4 year old, that's really far.

OneLostGrl · Jul 25, 2011

The petition can be found here..

http://www.change.org/petitions/cobb-county-ga-release-grieving-mother-of-hit-and-run-install-a-crosswalk

MsFacetious · Jul 26, 2011

Not only a 4 year old... she also had his older and younger sisters. 9 and 3 years old at the time of the crash if I remember correctly. The older child was uninjured.

So she was expected to walk a mile round trip with 3 young kids.

I would assume that the judge has discretion... and there is a minimum sentence. I would also guess that he could run the sentences together... so if the minimum is 6 months on all 3 charges, she can just do 6 months... not 18 months. So yes, I think the judge can have mercy.

Raquel gets sentenced today.

Finally... pictures.

These families break my heart... these are the families I often volunteer to photograph.
These are the families that cry when they see the pictures because they are the first pictures of their 3 year old.
Other families have hundreds pictures and video to remember their kids... this family doesn't have that advantage.

GUILTY GA - A.J. Nelson, 4, killed in hit & run, Marietta, 10 April 2010

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