Woman in jail after missing North Carolina arraignment
Monday, December 12th, 2011An out-of-state driver was formally charged with felony death by vehicle after a Dec. 6, 2008 accident. After the crash, authorities say the 36-year-old woman took a Breathalyzer test, showing a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent, the legal limit under North Carolina DWI laws. However, a North Carolina State Trooper says that the woman’s alleged impairment did not factor into the cause of the accident on a dark stretch of a road in Gastonia.
Law enforcement says that she was driving on the dark two-lane road in 2008 and struck a bicyclist. The 33-year-old Gastonia man was killed in the accident. A North Carolina Highway patrolman says that based upon the circumstances, it would have been difficult for any driver to have seen the bicyclist that night.
Authorities took the woman into custody after the crash. After her original arrest, the woman posted a ,000 secured bond and she was released.
The woman reportedly lived at the time in South Carolina, but reportedly now lives in Florida. She was scheduled to appear in court in June and for arraignment in late August on the felony death by vehicle charge. Authorities say she failed to appear in court. The judge issued warrant in late August, ordering that she be arrested for failing to appear.
Recently, the woman was arrested on the warrant in Florida and extradited back to North Carolina. She was placed in the Gaston County Jail with no bond. News reports do not indicate when the woman will next appear in court on the felony death by motor vehicle charge.
Source: Gaston Gazette, “Woman jailed for missing court date related to DWI fatality,” Diane Turbyfill, Dec. 7, 2011