ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 16, 1996 TAG: 9602160051
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER NOTE: Above
A 16-YEAR-OLD'S case will remain in juvenile court after a judge found sufficient evidence that the Roanoke County boy was driving drunk when his car struck and killed a woman.
A Roanoke County honor student is responsible for driving drunk and killing a woman in his neighborhood in December, a juvenile court judge ruled Thursday.
After hearing nearly five hours of emotional testimony, Roanoke County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Philip Trompeter said he found sufficient evidence that the 16-year-old boy was guilty of drunken driving and the aggravated involuntary manslaughter of Bonnie Kitts.
He delayed final disposition of the case until the youth's sentencing in March.
Trompeter also decided to keep the case in juvenile court instead of sending it to Circuit Court, despite the urging of Kitts' husband and sister-in-law. They testified at the hearing.
``This is someone who has known all his life about drinking and driving,'' said the victim's sister-in-law, Diane Kitts. ``This is someone who chose - out of knowing a lot better - to do this thing. It has completely annihilated our lives.''
If the teen-ager had been convicted as an adult in Circuit Court, he could have faced 20 years in prison. In juvenile court there are no sentencing guidelines, so his punishment is solely at Trompeter's discretion.
The defense's hope is ``for the judge to fashion a reasonable punishment so the boy can finish high school and go on to college, but in some way pay his debt to society,'' said his attorney, Charlie Phillips.
The Roanoke Times agreed not to name the teen in return for being allowed into Thursday's hearing. Juvenile court proceedings usually are closed to news media.
No one at Thursday's hearing contested the events of that night.
There was no question that the boy was drunk; his blood-alcohol level was 10 times the legal limit for minors.
There was no question that the accident was horrible: It took the life of a 45-year-old mother of two teen-agers who worked as a homebound teacher and dedicated her life to helping children in need.
It wracked the life of the driver of the car, who was a straight-A student, all-around athlete and peer counselor who hoped for a future in medicine.
But at 8:15 p.m. Dec. 14, all that changed.
After eating dinner with his family, the teen-ager and a friend set out for a night of drinking. In the car, they downed shots of vodka, at one point pulling into a gas station and hitting a newspaper display stand. The boys stopped for a few minutes to regain their bearings, then continued to drive.
They stopped to buy a six-pack of beer at a convenience store and headed back to their Woodbridge neighborhood in West Roanoke County. The boy dropped off his friend and headed toward Salem. As he neared the intersection of Kingsmill and Queensmill drives, he hit a curb. Witnesses estimated he had been going more than 45 mph.
``I remember feeling a jolt, then I lost control of my car,'' the boy testified.
Gary and Bonnie Kitts were rounding the corner on their regular evening walk along Queensmill Drive. Gary Kitts heard a noise ``like two cars hitting,'' a detective testified that Kitts told him.
Kitts saw two headlights coming toward him. He doesn't remember if he jumped out of the way or was hit. He got up and immediately went looking for his wife.
He found her near an apple tree on a neighbor's lawn. By the time a police officer got to her, she had no heartbeat. She died of head and chest injuries.
The teen-ager tried to restart his car. Two schoolmates driving in the area who saw the accident stopped him.
The boy failed field sobriety tests and registered 0.21 on his blood-alcohol test. In his car, police found a bottle of tequila, a bottle of vodka and a six-pack of beer.
The boy later told police that he had been drinking since the summer, two or three times a week. He had built up his tolerance, at times drinking as many as 16 shots of liquor. His father testified that his son had successfully hidden his alcoholism.
He is in substance-abuse counseling and describes himself as an alcoholic.
To prevent similar tragedies, he intends to counsel others against drunken driving.
``I suffer every day with my emotions,'' he said. ``I deal with depression and a lot of guilt. ... My goal is to make sure this lady did not die in vain.''
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB