A teenaged hit-and-run driver was sentenced to 5-7 months in “juvenile probation camp” after running over a woman and her eight-month-old son, who was in a stroller at the time.
The shocking video circulated on social media just after the crash, showing the car — which was reportedly stolen — accelerating and veering toward the woman with the stroller. The woman could be seen attempting to move out of the driver’s way, but a building obstructed her — and at the last minute, she turned in an effort to take the brunt of the impact herself and save her baby.
“A 16 y/o hit & run driver in a stolen car who ran over a mom and child in Venice was sentenced on Friday to 5-7 months in juvie camp,” Fox News reporter Bill Melugin tweeted. “LA DA @georgegascon office tells me this was an “appropriate resolution,” but I’ve learned he has a prior criminal history.”
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THREAD (1/4) A 16 y/o hit & run driver in a stolen car who ran over a mom & child in Venice was sentenced on Friday to 5-7 months in juvie camp. LA DA @GeorgeGascon office tells me this was an “appropriate resolution”, but I’ve learned he has a prior criminal history. @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/HupMw9KRFu
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) June 5, 2022
Melugin went on to note that several sources had confirmed the driver was on probation at the time of the crash — which clearly violated that. “He had been previously convicted of felony poisoning after he spiked a teen girl’s drink at Palmdale high school in 2019. She was hospitalized,” Melugin added.
“Despite the juvie’s criminal history, sources in the LA DA’s office tell me that in accordance with his policies, Gascon’s admin didn’t charge the juvie w/ assault w/ a deadly weapon or attempted murder for the hit & run, which led to light juvie camp sentence,” Melugin continued.
(3/4) Despite the juvie’s criminal history, sources in the LA DA’s office tell me that in accordance with his policies, Gascon’s admin didn’t charge the juvie w/ assault w/ a deadly weapon or attempted murder for the hit & run, which led to light juvie camp sentence. @FoxNews
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) June 5, 2022
Gascon’s office told Melugin that the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department had signed off on the light sentence:
Fortunately, the baby was uninjured, and the mother received a laceration to her elbow. The Sheriff’s Department agreed with the felony charges that were filed. At arraignment, the minor admitted two felony counts of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury and one felony count of hit-and-run. The Probation Department recommended, and the court sentenced the minor to a youth camp for five to seven months, an appropriate resolution.
The LA County Sheriff disputed that claim, however, saying that his department had nothing to do with what he called “lightweight sentencing.” When confronted, Gascon’s office reportedly conceded that the Sheriff’s Department had not been involved and promised to correct their statement.
(4/4) Gascon’s office told me @LASDHQ agreed with the lesser charges in the case. After @LACoSheriff pushed back & said LASD had no involvement in the case or the “lightweight sentencing”, Gascon’s office admitted LASD wasn’t involved & told me they will “correct” their statement
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) June 5, 2022
The mother, who asked to be identified only as “Rachel,” said in a victim impact statement that she had truly believed she was going to die in that moment.
“I thought those were the last moments of our lives; we were dead. That feeling, along with the memory of a car accelerating directly into us, will haunt me forever,” she said.
“As the car approached me and my child, I stopped walking and moved the stroller and myself up against a building on the right side of the road to ensure that we gave the reckless driver plenty of room to pass,” she continued. “As the car got dangerously close to us, [the juvenile suspect] turned the wheels in our direction and accelerated as he aimed to kill us.”
Rachel then turned on Gascon, blasting his office for using the “lightest touch possible” on the teen who had nearly killed her and her son.
“George Gascon doesn’t value my life or the life of my child, or any other victim out there and would rather reward the monsters like [the juvenile suspect] by demonstrating to them that their actions have no consequences,” she said. “DA Gascon is telling him and every other thug in LA County that it doesn’t matter if you try to murder people. Why are Gascon’s policies prioritizing the livelihood of rotten monsters when my child, my baby, who is incapable of protecting himself, is left to fend for himself, and is essentially being told his life doesn’t matter?”