Man Receives Maximum in Hit-and-Run
Posted by
Christina ColeFebruary 25, 2007 5:21 PMJudge Sentences Man to Maximum in Hit-and-Run Case.
A judge has sentenced a homeless man to four years prison time for fleeing the scene of a car accident that has left two Orange County women permanently disabled. The judge issued the maximum sentence despite both women's pleas for leniency.
Both women, through their attorney, say they forgive Bradshaw for the accident and also noted his decision to leave the scene had no bearing on "the nature and extent of their injuries." The women blame Dana Point officials for failing to correct dangers on the Pacific Coast Highway, where they were hit by Bradshaw's car while jogging.
"We respectfully ask the court not to impose an aggravated sentence," they said in the statement read in open court by attorney Sarah Serpa.But Orange County Superior Court Judge Daniel B. McNerney sided with prosecutors, finding the defendant's prior history of three drunk-driving convictions showed an obvious disregard for the law and outweighed his acceptance of responsibility by a "substantial amount."
Bradshaw has been in jail since his arrest, nine days after the April 8 accident and he will receive credit for the time served.
Both women, a mother of three, were jogging with two other women in a bicycle lane on the north side of PCH when they were hit. The impact threw Daniel approximately 60 feet breaking her pelvis and neck, almost severing her leg. Neria suffered a fractured skull, two broken legs, a broken pelvis, cheek and nose. The other two women were not injured.
Serpa is representing the women and their families in lawsuits against the city of Dana Point. Outside the courthouse after the hearing, she noted that her firm exposed concerns about the same stretch of the road in a lawsuit filed two years ago on behalf of an injured cyclist who was awarded a confidential settlement.
Three months after the women were injured, the City Council approved spending $350,000 to install a wall between car traffic and bicyclists and joggers along that section of road.