Woman goes to prison for hitting 6 cars with her 16 month old kid in the car

[boogieman]

This article caught my eye back when it first happened, for multiple reasons.

  Firstly, She pinball's down a road hitting six cars (and forcing numerous others off the road), Then blames the first one on loss of brakes and the rest because she "didn't want to be arrested in front of her kid".

  Secondly, One of the cars hit was a 1928 ford model A that took 2 and a half years to rebuild. The ONLY reason the owner was on that road, instead of a shorter route to his house, was because the shorter route was "notorious for collisions" and he didn't want to risk it (the car was only driven to and from car shows. It received $1000 in damage.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Jessica Lynn Oldroyd did not find much sympathy in court Tuesday morning, despite her attorney’s best efforts.

The 24-year-old Northeast Portland woman was sentenced to two years in prison, two years probation and more than $1,500 in fines on five counts of felony hit-and-run, one count of third-degree assault and one count of recklessly endangering her own child.

The charges stemmed from collisions she caused in July.

Even her own defense attorney admitted his client entered the court room with a long record of drunken and reckless driving infractions, prison time and drug convictions.

But it was a bumper car collision on July 31 involving at least six other automobiles and a pregnant mother that brought Oldroyd to face Washington County Judge Don LeTourneau for sentencing.

Oldroyd bumped back and forth between several cars on a two-lane street, near the Southwest Baseline Road and 206th Avenue intersection, before fleeing the scene with her 16-month-old baby, according to police.

Only one victim was injured in the collisions, a woman nine months pregnant.

Oldroyd fled the scene in her SUV with her child, only to turn herself in to the sheriff’s office the following morning.

Her defense attorney used this fact in an attempt to build sympathy with Judge LeTourneau during the hearing, saying that it proved Oldroyd had been somewhat rehabilitated after spending some two years in prison for prior crimes.

“Oldroyd was crying, she was remorseful and she asked how the pregnant woman was doing. This is somebody who in the past would have cared little for herself,” he said.

Oldroyd was driving with a suspended license.

The judge did not agree with Oldroyd’s defense, however, and even went so far as to say he would have given her a lengthier sentence had she not entered a plea deal with the state.

“If you’re willing to endanger your own child you’ll do just about anything,” LeTourneau said. Addressing the defense, he went on to say, “She only considered turning herself in because she knew she would have been arrested anyway.”

Because the state had pleaded down Oldroyd’s sentence in return for a guilty plea, LeTourneau said he was “tied” to a 24-month sentence and would prefer a longer one.

Instead, the judge ruled Oldroyd would not be eligible for early release due to her lengthy criminal record.

The victim in the collision was present at court, along with her newborn child.

Under terms of the plea agreement, seven other counts of reckless endangerment and seven counts of second degree criminal mischief were dismissed.

  I am dumbfounded  at the fact she  hit someone because she had no brakes, and KEPT DRIVING, Especially with her child in the car. You'd think being arrested wouldn't be as bad as  Not having breaks and getting into a serious accident. Glad everyone was ok though.


http://www.nwcn.com/statenews/oregon/stories/NW_092308ORN_old_royd_collision_sentencing_LJ.a5b1 3ed5.html

[Chompin]

It is pretty hard to just "lose your brakes" all of a sudden.  I had a massive brake line leak in one of my cars and the things never failed completely, even after driving it like that for a few weeks ( I kept refilling the fluid). 

So if she lost her brakes, how did she drive the car home without them?