Heart-stopping moment as car hits mother and baby, drives away in Venice, CA
Video shows a stolen vehicle slamming into a woman and her infant in Venice, California.
The California juvenile convicted of ramming a stolen car into a mother and her infant will not get early release after probation officials abandoned their support for the move Monday.
"Probation is no longer requesting early release," deputy district attorney Shea Sanna confirmed Monday, a week after Judge Mario Barrera first heard the request.
The teen, whose identity is not being release due to his youth, received an initial sentence of just five to seven months in juvenile probation camp — described as stricter than summer camp and less severe than military school.
Surveillance video captured the moment he drove the wrong way down a residential backstreet, speeding and under the influence, as he veered into a woman, on Aug. 6, 2021. She was walking her 8-month-old son in a stroller. Neither suffered serious injuries, but photos showed a tire-tread-shaped bruise on the back of the child's scalp. The teen tried to flee the scene before a good Samaritan in a pickup truck rammed him off the road. The defendant didn’t have a driver’s license at the time of the crime and was already on probation for a prior offense, felony poisoning after allegedly spiking a high school girl's drink.
Surveillance video recorded the entire Aug. 6, 2021 hit-and-run incident in Venice, California. The woman injured blasted Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon during an early release hearing for the teen driver on Wednesday. (Los Angeles)
The mother, who has asked to be identified only as Rachel, previously told Fox News Digital that she suffered severe cuts on her arms, hands and shoulder and slipped three discs in her back as a result of the hit, which sent her rolling over the hood of the car.
"I am very grateful to Deputy DA Sanna for his hard work in keeping [the juvenile] in Camp and for exposing the ugly truth about our corrupt juvenile justice system," Rachel told Fox News Digital Monday. "The light sentences [sought] by DA George Gascon for violent criminals, coupled with the LA County Board of Supervisors' push to get all minors, regardless of crime, out of detention facilities, has created a terrifying and dangerous climate for the good citizens of Los Angeles."
Despite the soft sentence, the driver's public defender moved for an early release — about a month before he was expected to get out.
After a pair of contested hearings, probation officials withdrew their support for the defense’s request, and the defendant will remain at camp until his anticipated release date of Nov. 22.
After striking Rachel and her 8-month-old, the wrong-way driver collided with a pickup truck. (Los Angeles County)
Prosecutors argued last week the teen has been involved in 14 fights and written up for allegations of misconduct, disobedience, destructive language and defiance of authority. However, some probation reports also praised his behavior.
During his testimony, county probation officer Charles Wilson answered questions from Sanna over the reports, including one summary that said the teen's "tone and disposition toward authority has improved."
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon speaks at a press conference, Dec. 8, 2021 in Los Angeles. (Robyn Beck/AFP)
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Wilson could not give specifics of how the teen had improved his behavior, but said he had begun taking responsibility by admitting he had been fighting and involved in other incidents. Sanna pointed out the teen got into a fight during his second day at the camp, followed by more physical altercations in the weeks thereafter.
"Thanks to Sanna’s dedication to justice and Judge Barrera’s fairness and quest for the truth, the Probation Department withdrew their bogus request that should have never been considered in the first place," Rachel said. "The amount of time, money and energy spent on this one hearing is mind-blowing and surely just the tip of the iceberg as it relates to all of the criminals being set free early from their sentences as a result of DA Gascon’s pro-criminal agenda."
Fox News' Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
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