Former teacher found guilty in hit-and-run death of young boy
By RYAN GORMAN
A former schoolteacher was found guilty Thursday in the 2013 hit-and-run death of a six-year-old boy in front of his horrified mother.
Tammy Lowe wept in a Dallas courtroom as the jury announced it found her guilty of manslaughter after she ran a red light, mowed down the young boy and then fled the scene as he lay dying in the street.
Lowe hit John Raidy January 24, 2013 as mother Lauren Raidy pushed a stroller carrying his younger sister, prosecutors told the court, according to KRLD.
The trio was on their way to the store to buy the young boy candy because he "had been so good," the still-grieving mother testified during the trial, according to the Dallas Morning News.
The teacher then carried the doomed boy on the hood of the car the length of a football field before briefly stopping then speeding off.
Lowe struck the boy while he was in a crosswalk trying to safely cross the street.
John Raidy died a short while later at a nearby hospital.
She turned herself in five days later, according to reports.
The former middle school educator has already pleaded guilty to a felony count of failure to stop and render aid.
Her attorney tried to argue during court that she made a poor decision, but did not have "conscious intent" to run the red light.
"Did she panic? Did she freak out? Was she scared?" Attorney Lee Bright asked jurors, according to the paper. "I'd bet all of the above, and she made a horrible choice."
The jury deliberated for only 90 minutes before reaching their verdict following the three-day trial.
The 54-year-old faces 20-years in prison.
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