The 83-year-old woman who struck and killed a kindergarten student getting off a school bus is free after serving 76 days in state prison.
Edith Main Anderson, of Roswell, was sentenced to three years in prison in January after pleading guilty to vehicular homicide in the December 2009 death of 5-year-old Karla Campos. Anderson entered a guilty plea so that Karla's family would not have to endure a trial, her attorney told the AJC.
Karla, who attended Mountain View Elementary in east Cobb County, had just stepped off her school bus on Davis Road when she was struck by Anderson, who hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, sending her 1995 Nissan Altima zooming forward. Anderson swerved to the right and lost control of her car, police said. She struck Karla and then continued into the grass.
Karla died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, her mother, Gloria Campos, later told the AJC. Karla had been riding the bus only a few days, following the birth of her younger brother, Gloria Campos said.
Anderson was arrested and released hours later on $5,000 bond. She apologized to the Campos family in the courtroom in January.
"I’ve thought over and over and over again what I could have done. What I should have done," Anderson said. "I just hope the time I spend in jail will give them some measure of comfort and relief. Because of me, her family will suffer the pain of her loss for the rest of their lives."
Anderson was booked into Pulaski State Prison in Hawkinsville on Jan. 27 and released April 12, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections.
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