Victim of hit-and-run in Venice outraged over juvenile suspect's sentence
A mother who was the victim of a hit and run in Venice, an incident that also struck her infant child who was in a carriage, has expressed outrage over the sentencing of the juvenile suspect.
Security cameras caught the stunning crash last year in August when the mother and her child were struck.
The driver, a 16-year-old at the time, was sentenced Friday to a youth camp for five to seven months and the victim is furious for what she sees as a light sentence, saying she feels like a victim all over again and blasted District Attorney George Gascón.
In a new victim impact statement, the mother said she thought her 8-month-old was killed at first.
"I thought those were the last moments of our lives, we were dead. That feeling, along with the memory of a car accelerating directly into us will haunt me forever," her statement said. "I have never been more surprised or disappointed and, in fact, I have never felt so victimized as I have by the system and current policies of LA's DA, George Gascón."
The DA's office, however, was standing by the decision, saying it was made based on the facts and the law, releasing a statement to CBSLA that read in part:
"The decisions made in this case were based on the facts and the law. Fortunately, the baby was uninjured and the mother received lacerations to her elbow. The Sheriff's Department agreed with the felony charges that were filed. The Probation Department recommended and the court sentenced the minor to a youth camp for five to seven months. We stand by the purpose of the juvenile justice system to rehabilitate young people."
Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Shea Sanna criticized the sentence.
"There's a lot of cases like this where the victims are seriously injured and they're victimized and they're not getting justice and they're frustrated, and this can happen to anybody. It's a public safety issue and everybody should be concerned that you cannot, under Gascón's LA County and his policies...you can't push your kid in a stroller down the street without worrying about becoming a victim of a crime.
The deputy DA also said he believes the youth camp is more like a YMCA camp than any sort of jail facility and that he believes the incident should have been charged as an attempted murder or at least an assault with a deadly weapon.
Gascón is facing a recall effort.
