Hit-Skip Victim’s Sister: ‘You Know You Hit A Human’
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Fatal Hit-And-Run
A suspect accused of a fatal hit-and-run accident in Licking County learns his fate.
NBC 4
A judge sentences a man who has been accused of Roberta Hay’s hit-and-run death on U.S. Route 40 last summer.
NEWARK, Ohio—It was a packed courthouse Monday morning as a suspect was sentenced after a fatal hit-and-run accident last summer.
Lester Davenport, who has been accused in the hit-and-run death of Roberta Hay, faced a Licking County judge.
Davenport was traveling westbound on U.S. Route 40 during the overnight hours of July 8, 2008.
Roberta Hay, 46, of Etna was walking along the route when Davenport’s vehicle allegedly struck and killed her.
Hay was intoxicated, according to court documents.
Davenport failed to stop, according to the prosecuting attorney.
Authorities found the vehicle Davenport allegedly used to commit the offense a few days after the accident.
Davenport, who has previous OVI offenses, turned himself in months later.
Davenport was charged with one count of failure to stop after an accident, a third-degree felony, which is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
He pleaded no contest to the charge.
Hay’s sister was given an opportunity to talk directly the Davenport in the courtroom,
“That was my baby sister, and I know in my heart, you know you hit a human. And I can’t get past why you couldn’t have just picked her up and held her until she took her last breath. We would have felt comfort in that,“ sister Jody Hail said.
Judge Thomas Marcelain sentenced Davenport to one year in prison with a $1,000 fine and a two-year driver’s license suspension.
Davenport denied an on-camera interview.
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Reader Reactions
Sunnylove, I believe the laws against drunk drives are insane, and that anyone who is caught driving drunk ONCE should never ever be able to get a license or register a car again. I also think they should go to jail for a very long time, because whether or not they caused an injury they endanger all of us every time they get on the road.
However, you seem to feel the guy in this story was driving drunk, which no one knows. It’s entirely possible he didn’t turn himself in because he just didn’t realize he’d hit a person. Maybe he thought he’d hit a deer, who knows? A few more details would be very helpful, but as is usual with this website we only get a very partial, hazy story.
There are also some very good, commonsense reasons for the laws that tell people to not walk along major highways, and anyone with a brain wouldn’t do it at night.
The fact that Davenport kept going is one ting, but knowing he didn’t turn himself in for months makes me ill to my stomach. I think it is disgusting how the legal system uses “driving dunk” as an excuse to give a murderer a one year sentence, but considering the fact he didn’t care enough to go to the authorities the next day is reason enough for him to serve a much harder sentence. I am a vicitm of a drunk driver myself and 10 years later I am still recovering from my injuries…but the woman who hit me (while driving under suspended license and two prior OMVIs) received the maximum of 6 months in jail…someone please explain to me how this is fair? How come the law does not protect us from these irresponsible drunks!?
“... was intixicated ....“ is a legal conclusion.
Some are able to ambulate well at 0.20% and others are dangerous to themselves and other at far less a concentration.
One can not help but wonder what was the BA of the deceased? The coroner’s toxicology findings would report that.
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Although the story noted that the driver had previous OMVI offenses, there is of course no way at all to know if he was driving drunk on that night, since he didn’t stop. I’d also like to know if the woman was walking in the street or to the side of it, which the story does not say. At any rate, pedestrian traffic is not legal along this route as far as I know, and she was walking along - or in - the street drunk in the middle of the night. Sounds like her behavior was pretty irresponsible too, although of course her death is regrettable.
It is a bit ironic that a drunk driver hit a drunk staggering down the road.Had the driver that hit this person been sobor and stopped there would have been no court case.
Too bad that drunks don’t just hit and injure and or kill other drunks. It’s just not that easy.
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