San Diego
The driver of a car that struck and killed an 8-year-old girl Dec. 5 pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony hit-and-run driving.
Gwendolyn Bryant, 22, of San Diego pleaded guilty to the charge before San Diego Municipal Court Judge Joe Littlejohn, who set sentencing for Feb. 18. Annastacia Hall died after her bicycle collided with Bryant’s car at Myrtle and Central avenues in the Mid-City area.
The San Diego County district attorney’s office filed the hit-and-run charge after Bryant drove away from the scene of the accident, instead of filing a vehicular manslaughter charge. “It was a car accident in which she (Bryant) was not at fault,” said prosecutor Ed Checkert.
“She (the girl) rode into the path of the car. That’s what it appears. What (Bryant) did was leave the scene. There’s no evidence of drinking or speeding,” he said.
The district attorney’s office has agreed to a sentencing arrangement, in which Bryant will face no more than one year in jail on conditions of probation with a three-year suspended prison term, Checkert said. Bryant remains free on $10,000 bail.
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