By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor
The Erlanger woman charged with manslaughter and assault in a traffic fatality on Weaver Road in Florence in March entered a plea of not guilty in a Boone County courtroom Wednesday.
Police say Jessica Hood was distracted when she struck a family that was walking along the road, killing Charles Napier and his twin grandchildren, Samantha and Sean May.
Susan Elam and Ethan May were injured in the incident.
Napier and another family member were pulling the children in wagons along the shoulder of the road when they were struck by the Chevrolet Malibu driven by Hood.
Hood’s attorney, Dan Dickerson said this was a horrible accident and he plans to defend his client vigorously.
“There is nothing that I have come across that indicates any type of criminal responsibility for this,” Dickerson “There is nothing I know of at this time, no substance abuse, no texting no speeding, no inattentiveness, nothing that we know of that would justify an indictment.”
Dickerson anticipates hiring an expert to reconstruct the accident. He said Hood, 22, is trying to deal with the incident the best she can.
“She has no criminal history, no driving history, no speeding, no reckless driving, nothing, so this is out of character for her,” Dickerson said. “She feels terrible for the victims, but we have to deal with this criminal situation and we intend to do that.”
Hood is charged with three counts of manslaughter and two counts of assault in the case. She left the courtroom immediately after the arraignment and is free on $50,000 bond.
A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Feb, 17.
Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com