Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 12, 1994 TAG: 9401120089
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Manning, 19, had acknowledged racing along Peters Creek Road last summer in high-speed "horseplay" with another car.
His attorney was prepared to argue that Manning was innocent of involuntary manslaughter because his car was not involved in the collision that killed Dustin Washburn.
At the last minute, however, Manning changed his plea to no contest rather than take his chances with a Roanoke County Circuit Court jury.
Judge Kenneth Trabue found Manning guilty of reckless driving but took the manslaughter charge under advisement until a sentencing hearing scheduled for Feb. 23.
Commonwealth's Attorney F.W. "Skip" Burkart argued for a manslaughter conviction because the fatal accident would not have happened if Manning had not been racing with another driver, John Walton Stover.
Burkart gave this summary of the June 3 accident:
The two cars raced north on Peters Creek Road, cutting in and out of traffic and speeding side-by-side through a red light at Airport Road.
Manning was in the lead as the two cars approached the light at Barrens Road. Manning cut to the right to avoid a slow-moving car in the left lane. Stover slammed into the rear of the car, injuring Brenda Washburn and killing her young son.
Charles Cornelison, an attorney representing Manning, conceded that "if not by the grace of God," his client could have been the one who collided with the Washburn car.
But Cornelison cited circumstances that he said put Manning in a much more favorable light than Stover, 20.
Stover - who last month was given a six-year prison sentence for manslaughter - was drinking that night, was driving on a license suspended from a previous drunken-driving conviction and, according to officers at the scene, showed a lack of remorse as paramedics struggled to revive Dustin Washburn.
Manning had not been drinking, had a valid driver's license, returned to the scene voluntarily and, according to officers, kept climbing out of a patrol car in an attempt to help Dustin.
"He wanted to do what he could for the child," Cornelison said.
Burkart conceded that the circumstances will put Manning in a much more favorable light when it comes to sentencing.
Burkart said nothing can change the fact that Manning shares responsibility for Dustin's death.
"Their driving was the same," Burkart said. "It could easily have been one or the other."
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB