Hit and Run Driver Avoids Prison
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Convicted of killing two people in July of 2003, a hit and driver will once again avoid prison time.
A judge Friday ruled Christopher Davis has not violated his probation in that case.
"I don't get it. My son is dead. For God's sake, my son is dead," sobbed Lisa Cantu, outside the courthouse.
Cantu lost her 16-year-old son, Ryan Harris, and her best friend, Caroline Crane, when Davis struck the car they were in, forcing it across a median into oncoming traffic.
Davis fled the scene, but was later arrested.
As part of a deal with the victims' families, he received 10 years of probation.
Since then, prosecutors have returned to court twice, in an effort to revoke that probation.
"He should be on zero tolerance, having taken the lives of two people in what he deems an accident," argued Assistant District Attorney Jenni Morse, in court.
In 2008, prosecutors were alarmed by Davis' arrest for DWI in Carrollton. The charge, however, was dismissed. As a result, though, the judge did order Davis wear an ankle bracelet to monitor his alcohol consumption. In June 2010, it was replaced with an in home breathalyzer test Davis is required to take three times a day.
Friday morning, prosecutors zeroed in on those tests, accusing Davis of skipping 13 of them in the last two years and testing positive for alcohol twice.
Mark Morgan, a representative for Smart Start, which oversees the alcohol monitoring, testified Davis had missed fewer than one percent of his tests and often blew negative for alcohol minutes after missing his scheduled window.
"Sometimes I oversleep. I work like 12 hours a day," said Davis, who admitted his wife would often have to wake him to test.
Morgan also testified both times Davis had positive results, they were more consistent with having used mouthwash, than with having consumed alcohol.
"I have no words - I just don't understand how many chances one man gets," said 17-year-old Nathan Harris, who was only eight when he survived the crash that killed his brother.
Despite his outrage, a judge found prosecutors did not make their case.
Davis left court, offering no comment.
Harris, meanwhile, stood with a shocked expression,
"I have nothing to say to him. He had nothing to say to me when he killed my brother, so why would I have anything to say to him. There's nothing I want to say to him," said Harris.
