Case dismissed against driver charged in fatal Donegal Township crash
Claysville woman was facing homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter
The criminal case against a Claysville woman facing charges of homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter after her car struck and killed a motorcyclist on Route 40 last year was dismissed after a magistrate determined she did not act recklessly or with gross negligence.
District Judge John Bruner dismissed all charges against Tammera Marie Ross during her preliminary hearing Friday afternoon in Washington County Central Court in connection with the Oct. 20 fatal crash in Donegal Township.
Ross, 56, was leaving the Dollar General parking lot when she pulled out onto Route 40 and into the path of Alyssa Hutchison, who tried to take evasive action, but her eastbound motorcycle struck the front driver’s side door and she was thrown from her vehicle. Hutchison, 23, of Washington, was wearing a helmet and taken to UPMC Washington hospital, but she died an hour later.
Defense attorney Chris Blackwell questioned why Ross was charged in the first place because he said there were no factors showing that his client acted maliciously or was driving erratically when she pulled out of the store’s parking lot. Court documents indicated Ross saw the motorcycle’s headlight as she pulled out, but it’s not clear whether she realized how close Hutchinson was to her at that moment since the crash happened at night.
“Here’s a woman who went to get her groceries and then left and there was an accident. Everyone knows there was a death involved, but that doesn’t make it criminal,” Blackwell said. “Sometimes there are just accidents.”
He said Bruner laid out a lengthy explanation for why he was dismissing the case against Ross, who was facing one felony count of homicide by vehicle and a misdemeanor charge of involuntary manslaughter, along with summary offenses of careless driving, failure to yield and reckless driving.
“I think what Judge Bruner focused on is that there might have been negligence, but (prosecutors) couldn’t show there was ‘gross negligence’ or ‘recklessness,'” Blackwell said.
Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh said Tuesday he was considering his options on whether to re-file the charges against Ross, but he declined to comment on Bruner’s decision to dismiss the case.
Donegal Township police, who were assisted in the investigation by state police, charged Ross May 8. She has been free on a $100,000 bond since being charged.
Blackwell said he was unsure whether Walsh would ask Donegal Township police to re-file the same charges, which could be submitted to a different magistrate.