MARTINEZ — The motive force of a automobile that hit and killed a faculty crossing guard in Lafayette final 12 months was sentenced after pleading no-contest final month, authorities mentioned.
At a Superior Courtroom sentencing listening to Could 16, Choose Joni Hiramoto sentenced Phyllis Meehan to 100 hours of group service and one 12 months of court docket probation, Contra Costa County District Legal professional’s spokesman Ted Asregadoo mentioned in an announcement Tuesday. She additionally might not function a motorcar throughout her probation.
Round 3 p.m. Sept. 8, 2021, Meehan’s GMC Yukon sport-utility automobile struck crossing guard Ashley Dias outdoors Stanley Center Faculty on two-lane Faculty Avenue close to Paradise Courtroom.
Authorities mentioned that Meehan — “with out malice,” based on a deputy district lawyer’s assertion — drove into one other automobile earlier than accelerating into the crosswalk in entrance of the varsity.
Dias, 45, pushed a scholar out of the best way earlier than he was struck. Lafayette cops responding to the collision discovered him trapped below a automotive and pulled him out with assist from some bystanders, officers mentioned. An ambulance rushed him to a hospital, however he died from his accidents later that day.
It was the second day on the job for Dias, who labored within the biotechnology business and attended Stanley as a toddler. He started volunteering as a guard after his niece started strolling to high school.
Household and group members mourned their cherished one’s loss, which added to an ongoing native debate round visitors security within the metropolis.
A coroner’s report Sept. 23, 2021, listed Dias’ reason for dying as “a number of blunt power accidents” resulting from “motorcar collision, pedestrian struck by car and dragged roughly 35 yards.” The case was categorized as an “accident.”
Meehan, who stayed on the scene and spoke with investigators, was charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. In an announcement, the district lawyer’s workplace mentioned “vehicular manslaughter is a case of negligence – a failure to train an affordable normal of care and warning.” She was arraigned Jan. 7, and initially pleaded not responsible, based on a county information verify.
Based on Asregadoo, Meehan wrote a letter, delivered every week earlier than sentencing, to Dias’ household, who performed a video presentation memorializing Dias earlier than formal sentencing.
Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.