An earlier version of this story misstated the charges against Jerry L Guy.
The Georgia Supreme Court has refused to review the case of a Cobb County mother convicted of vehicular homicide because she was jaywalking when a drunken driver killed her son.
Raquel Nelson is trying to erase the record that makes her criminally responsible for the death of her 4-year-old son A.J. Newman on the night of April 10, 2010.
Jerry L. Guy, who pleaded guilty to hit-and-run in connection with the child’s death, served six months in jail while Nelson faces a jail sentence of up to three years if convicted a second time.
On Monday, the state’s highest court denied Nelson’s formal request that the Supreme Court take a second look at the request to halt further prosecution that the State Court of Appeals denied last spring.
Four justices ruled against Nelson’s request, two ruled in favor and one abstained from making a ruling, according to State Supreme Court records.
Nelson’s case garnered national attention in the summer of 2011 as pedestrian and civil rights activists argued that prosecuting a mother who lost her child while just trying to get him across the street was unfair.
Nelson was returning home on the bus from a day out with her son and daughters the night that Guy – struck and killed her son.
Nelson and her children crossed Austell Road’s northbound lanes to the median rather than walking a half mile in either direction to crosswalks.
Witnesses told police that A.J. pulled away from his mother and darted into the path of Guy’s oncoming van, trying to follow his older sister, who had already made it safely to the other side.
Nelson and her toddler, whom she was holding while trying to save A.J., were also hit but were not seriously injured.
In addition to second-degree vehicular homicide, a jury also found Nelson guilty of crossing outside of a crosswalk and reckless conduct.
Nelson’s attorney, Steve Sadow, said the case will now return to the Cobb County State Court judge who originally heard the case and gave her the option of taking 12 months of probation and community service or retrying her case.
Nelson chose to retry the case and then appealed the charges.
It is unclear when the case will return to the Cobb County State Court.
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