Woman pleads guilty in hit and run of pregnant woman, her boyfriend
The woman who police say injured two pedestrians when she veered off the road while driving under the influence pleaded guilty to two counts of fleeing an accident and one count of drug possession.
Kimberly Burke will face up to seven years in prison for the June 3 incident when she hit Christian Jimenez and Tanesha Bush at an Ypsilanti Township bus stop and drove off.
Burke pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of failing to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in serious impairment or death, which carries a five-year sentence, and a count of possession of a controlled substance, which carries a two-year sentence.
Bush and Jimenez were waiting for a bus on the 1300 block of Huron River Drive on June 3 when Burke struck them, mailboxes, street signs and a brick wall before fleeing the scene. Burke admitted in court Tuesday that she was under the influence of Vicodin and other prescription drugs for which she did not have a prescription.
Burke could face additional charges, depending on the results of blood tests from the Michigan State Police crime lab. Information on Burke’s blood alcohol level at the time of the crash has not been made available by police.
Tanesha Bush and Christian Jimenez
When asked by Judge Donald Shelton what she did after she hit Jimenez and Bush, Burke said, “I kept going and parked down the road and walked out. The police shortly came and took me away.”
Bush was pregnant at the time of the crash and was hospitalized for leg injuries. The fetus is safe and healthy, according to family members who spoke to AnnArbor.com
Bush is expected to give birth to the baby in mid-October.
Jimenez was struck more directly by Burke’s vehicle, suffering a broken neck and serious head injuries. Jimenez had reconstructive surgery in mid-June when doctors placed several titanium plates in his head. After spending months in the hospital, he faces several more months of rehabilitation.
Burke will be sentenced on at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 4 in the Washtenaw County Trial Court.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
jcj
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 1:03 p.m.
I will have to start rereading these articles. MY BAD. Headline "Woman pleads guilty in hit and run of pregnant woman, her boyfriend" I read the headline as the women driver being guilty of a hit and run of her( the drivers boyfriend and his new girlfriend) I would like to apologize to the driver for my mistake.
LaMusica
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 11:13 a.m.
I don't think 7 years is nearly long enough! She not only fled the scene, not caring if the people she hit were alive or not, but when she "parked down the road" she HID her car, as per the original report. Nothing but good thoughts and best wishes to the family, and hopes for the best recovery.
tinkerbell
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 3:30 a.m.
The offenses are served concurrently. Five years is the max. The judge sets the minimum which cannot be more than 2/3 of the max. Anyways she could still be sentenced to probation.
Monica R-W
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 8:04 p.m.
As long as the victims in this case agree with the end result, then its' fair. Hopefully Ms. Burke never gets behind the wheel of any vehicle again.
Grimey
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 4:38 p.m.
So, again, for the fourth time, I ask a2dotcom to verify whether or not Ms. Burke changed her clothes after she hit the pedestrians. If so, I think it's an important fact to the story.
Bradley Pearsall
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 4:35 p.m.
Why have the police not released her blood alcohol level? Was she under the influence of anything. Seems like there would have been charges filed if she was. Don't tell me there was another classic plee deal?!?!?
Kyle Feldscher
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 4:38 p.m.
Bradley- The prosecutors emphasized yesterday that once the blood alcohol level results come back, new charges could be filed. She did admit to being under the influence of prescription drugs that she did not have prescriptions for. There may be more to come in this case, we'll just have to wait and see.
RJA
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 3:56 p.m.
Three lives almost taken, and this woman will only get up to 7 years in prison? Where is justice for this couple and their baby? Just admitting to the crime isn't getting it to me. (no script for the drugs she was taking?) Will be happy whe the crime lab reports come in. So happy the baby is OK, and God Bless this beautiful couple!
Ricebrnr
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 1:01 p.m.
Not justice..further comments premoderated by me
breadman
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 12:38 p.m.
This young couple is going to take longer than seven years too recover.................. There was three lives in stake here not just two! I think she should have gotten seven years each of the three..... total 21 years, time too think.
Barb
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 2:15 p.m.
OK, but when you're talking about plea deals such as this, both parties need to agree. The whole reason she was pleading was to keep the number of years down...
jrigglem
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 2 p.m.
I don't think breadman is making up numbers. I think that they are saying there should be 3 counts of each charge. One for each victim (including the baby) which is what would total to 21 years.
Barb
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 1:12 p.m.
There's no doubt that the victims will take longer than that to recover but you can't just make up numbers for these charges. There are guidelines.
jcj
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 11:49 a.m.
She should have been charged with attempted murder or assault with a deadly weapon!
jjc155
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 8:43 p.m.
That would have required specific intent to commit both or either of those crimes.
Barb
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 1:07 p.m.
Based on what? Where's the intent?
Craig Lounsbury
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 11:15 a.m.
where are the pictures of the perp?
Monica R-W
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 8:05 p.m.
I have been wondering that since the initial story was written on A2.com regarding this case.