Judge Rejects Plea Arrangement For Leaving Scene Of Accident
Last updated Thursday, May 15, 2008 9:12 PM CDT in News
By Robin Mero
The Morning News
A judge declined Thursday to accept a plea arrangement for a Siloam Springs woman who struck a 9-year-old girl on a bicycle in September 2006, then left the scene.
Andrea Marroquin, 36, of 1010 Flynt St. pleaded guilty in February to leaving the scene of a personal injury accident.
Benton County Circuit Judge David Clinger ordered a pre-sentence investigation, the results of which he considered Thursday. He said he wasn't happy with arrangements recommended by attorneys, however, and set a sentencing hearing June 26 to hear further testimony.
Marroquin was driving south on Siloam Springs' Hico Street at the intersection of Cheri Whitlock Drive the afternoon of Sept. 8, 2006, in a blue Nissan, according to court documents. She saw Amanda Platt on a bicycle but was paying attention to the intersection and didn't see the girl ride into the crosswalk, she told police.
Her car struck the girl. Witnesses said the girl and bicycle hit the hood and flew over the top of the car, landing on the road behind. Police found the child about 60 feet south of the intersection, court documents say.
The child was flown to Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville. She had scrapes and a broken ankle.
Marroquin didn't slow or stop and drove home. Witnesses gave a license plate number to police, who found and interviewed Marroquin at home. Her car was damaged and skin tissue was found on the hood. She admitted hitting the child and said she was too nervous to stop, court documents say.
Marroquin has three children, ages 4, 8 and 15, and works for a poultry company in Siloam Springs.
Deputy Prosecutor Carrie Dobbs recommended Marroquin serve 120 days in jail, with work release from 3:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m., and five years on probation. According to the plea arrangement with defense attorney Robert Klock, Marroquin could have her record expunged.
Marroquin is making payments on $24,000 in hospital bills. She used an interpreter in court.
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Capo-Di-Tuti-Capi wrote on May 16, 2008 9:09 AM: