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Fatal Hit & Run Suspect's Pastor Maintains She's Innocent

LONGMONT, Colo. (CBS4) - A judge on Tuesday cut the bond in half for a woman accused in a deadly hit-and-run accident in Longmont.

Jason Grimmer, 16, died New Year's Eve. Police say he ran onto Main Street to escape a fight and was hit by a car that didn't stop.

Kendra Balentine, 18, is accused of being the driver who hit Grimmer. Her family maintains she was not behind the wheel. She was back in court Tuesday to face charges.

In court, Balentine's family, friends and pastor all said she is innocent.

"They're terribly broken up over all of this. This is not a good thing," Balentine's family pastor Corey Seulean said.

Seulean said on News Year's Eve Balentine was at a church event. Her mother previously showed CBS4 a cellphone video that shows she was there.

"There were over 30 of us there. All of us can testify that she was there and that she never left during that time frame," Seulean said.

Jason Grimmer
Jason Grimmer (credit: Longmont Times-Call)

The family is adamant that police have the wrong suspect behind bars.

"As a pastor, I stand for the truth, I stand for justice, and that's all I stand for," Seulean said. "I'm not interested in covering up anything. I'm not interested in Kendra, who did not do anything wrong, be put in jail for that, so we just want the truth to come out."

Balentine will be back in court in late February.

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