ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 16, 1995 TAG: 9512170007
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER
A 16-year-old Roanoke County boy was being held without bond Friday, charged with drunken driving and manslaughter in an accident that killed a 45-year-old woman walking the neighborhood with her husband.
As they walked Queensmill Drive near the edge of Salem about 8:15 Thursday night, Bonnie Kitts and her husband, Gary, were hit by an eastbound car that veered off Kingsmill Drive. The couple were just a block from their Stone Mill Drive home.
"We believe Mr. Kitts heard something, looked up, but had no time to react," said Detective Chris Nielsen of the Roanoke County Police Department.
Police have not determined how fast the car was traveling. The teen-ager also lives nearby.
Bonnie Kitts was taken to Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead of injuries to her head and chest, according to the medical examiner.
Gary Kitts was treated for a minor injury to his left arm and released, police said.
Thursday night, police charged the 16-year-old boy with drunken driving and held him at Coyner Springs Juvenile Detention Center overnight. Citing confidentiality laws, police would not release his name.
Friday, detectives charged him with aggravated involuntary manslaughter, an offense that reflects "gross, wanton culpability as to show reckless disregard for human life," according to state law.
Roanoke County Commonwealth's Attorney Skip Burkart said he would decide next week whether to seek a transfer to Circuit Court, where the 16-year-old would be tried as an adult.
The boy remained at the juvenile detention center Friday after a judge refused to set bond. Administrators at the home would not comment about the boy.
According to assistant superintendent Rick Weekly, any juvenile accused of a serious crime is placed on a suicide watch and evaluated by a mental-health counselor.
Police would not release details of the accident or the blood-alcohol level of the teen-ager. According to state law, the level at which someone is presumed too drunk to drive is 0.02 percent for those under the age of 21. The level is 0.08 percent for those 21 and older.
LENGTH: Short : 50 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB