A New Trier High School honor student has been arrested from a hit-and-run accident where a classmate was critically injured. Marijuana was allegedly involved.
The judge in Cook County, Marcia Orr, ordered an extremely high bail in the case, after hearing from the teenage defendant that she smoked marijuana the before the accident. She set the bail at $500,000. The defendant told the police that she had smoked marijuana the night before the accident.
Her attorney said that he family does not have the financial means to raise the 10% that the bonding companies want to bond her out. The prosecutor on the case, Akash Vyas, said that bolld and urine samples were taken from the teen, but would not be available until next week.
The teen is accused of striking another teenager, 15-year-old Sarah Goone, and then driving off and leaving Goone alone with her significant injuries. The prosecutor said that after striking Goone, she headed back her home where she lived with her parents, and on the way actually passed a police station without stopping to report what just happened. Several witnesses gave partial license-plate numbers to the police and that was just enough evidence for the police figure out who she was, and facilitate an arrest just 28 minutes following the accident. When the police arrived at her house, she was sitting in her car which was parked on the street.
She has been arrested and charged with failing to give information or render aid, failure to exercise due care, and failing to report and accident involving personal injury.
I personally find the amount of the bail ridiculous. A half a million dollars for a hit-and-run case? For someone that has no criminal history and has never even been cited with a traffic violation? I have seen murder defendants with bail far less than this. I have also seen defendants who have been charged with drug trafficking and facing up to 30 years with bonds set 5 times less. Here in Myrtle Beach and Horry County I've seen people charged with First Degree Burglary facing potential life sentences get bonds that are ten times less than this one.
I'm sure that the fact that the driver didn't stop at the accident affected the judge when she set the bail. And she should have considered that. But I also can't help but wonder if the egregiousness of what happened didn't play into it and have an influence on her decision. By law a judge is restricted to only consider whether the person is a danger to the community and is a flight risk.
Judge Orr stated at the bond hearing that learning about the defendant smoking marijuana was an "important component" in her decision to set such a high bond. Personally, I don't get the connection. Smoking pot the night before has no bearing on being a danger to the community and as far as being a flight risk, that doesn't really tie in either. Especially since in all likelihood the marijuana had pretty much worn off.
For most crimes here in South Carolina, the bail is set by a magistrate or municipal court judge. Attorneys for the defendants can then motion the court for a hearing to have that bond reviewed by a circuit court judge, which is a judge that sits in state court. That is a higher court and the judge has the authority to change the bond amount and the terms of the release. This particular case would certainly be an appropriate case to have reviewed by a higher court. Such a hearing is called a Bond Reduction.
