Former Teacher Avoids Jail Time In Hit & Run Of Teen
DENVER (CBS4/AP) — A former Aurora teacher involved in a crash that left a teen girl with a brain injury won't have to go to jail under a plea agreement.
Erin Jackson, 30, pleaded guilty Monday to attempted hit-and-run causing serious bodily injury in a crash in February in Denver. She won't face jail time under a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Jackson was accused of running a red light in February and striking Dee Bridgeman as the girl was in a crosswalk near East High School in Denver. Jackson turned herself in to police a day after the crash.
With the plea deal Bridgeman's family wanted to make sure Jackson would maintain a felony on her record.
Jackson didn't respond to any questions when leaving court but could be heard quietly praying to herself.
Bridgeman was left with a fractured skull, brain damage and paralysis to her left side. Her medical bills are now well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"For her to be properly treated -- she's still undergoing treatment – she's had to move to Omaha, Nebraska, where she's continuing to undergo daily therapy," Lynn Kimbrough with the Denver District Attorney's Office said. "Mom has to travel now, when she can, to see her daughter. This has truly been a life-changing thing."
Jackson is expected to be sentenced to probation and community service at a hearing set for Aug. 30.
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