Background: The stop sign arm of a Scott County Schools bus in Kentucky (WLEX/YouTube). Inset: Ashley Parsons appears virtually in court (Scott County Detention Center/WLEX/YouTube).
A woman in Kentucky accused of driving her SUV into a child who was walking to her school bus and then driving on as if nothing happened is a danger to her community, a judge has determined.
Ashley Parsons, 39, stands charged with aggravated DUI, first-degree assault, leaving the scene of an accident or failure to render aid, reckless driving and passing a loading school bus, according to the Georgetown Police Department and jail records reviewed by Law&Crime.
She has pleaded not guilty. During a hearing on Tuesday, her defense attorney asked 14th Judicial Circuit Judge Kathryn Gabhart to change her bond from $50,000 to $100,000 but with only 10% required, enabling her to be released with $10,000, per regional NBC affiliate WLEX.
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After hearing more details about the case, the judge denied the request, ruling that there was “clear and convincing evidence” that Parsons poses a danger to the community.
On Aug. 20 at about 7:30 a.m., a 10-year-old girl was crossing the roadway on Valley Forge Court in Georgetown, Kentucky, a city located about 15 miles north of Lexington. The girl was heading to her bus, which authorities said had its “stop” arm out.
The bus driver reportedly saw an approaching SUV — allegedly driven by Parsons — and started honking to try to get the vehicle to stop. That attempt proved futile, as the SUV carried on and struck the child.
“Witnesses on scene advised that the child was struck so violently that it knocked her shoes off and that she was thrown from the area of the front of the bus and landed near the rear tires of the bus,” according to court documents obtained by the area TV station.
Parsons was apparently driving at an “extremely fast pace” in the lead-up to the crash. The Georgetown Police Department said Parsons then drove away.
Authorities responded to the crash site and rushed the child to a nearby hospital to be treated. She suffered “a laceration to the head and a concussion,” court documents stated, and her injuries were described as non-life-threatening.
When officers caught up with Parsons and detained her, her black SUV apparently had damage to the front of it, and she allegedly showed signs of intoxication. The court documents state that Parsons said she “remembered” seeing the school bus stopped, “but did not see a stop sign or remember striking a child.”
The defendant reportedly admitted to drinking half a gallon of vodka every day after work before driving around town.
“She kept going; she’s a danger,” the victim’s parents said at the bond hearing, per WLEX. “Come on now, y’all can’t say she’s not a danger to the community. She has kids, and she’s a danger to her own kids.”
Parsons is expected to return to court on Dec. 11.
The post Woman who blew past school bus ‘stop’ arm and hit 10-year-old girl so hard it ‘knocked her shoes off’ said she drank half a gallon of vodka every day before driving: Cops first appeared on Law & Crime.
