Teen in anguish after Charlotte wreck that left 2 dead

[another bullet]

2 dead, baby in critical condition is 'a tragedy for everybody,' young driver's lawyer says.
By Gary L. Wright and Cleve R. Wootson Jr.
[e-mail]
Posted: Friday, Feb. 11, 2011

Sharai Bauer was driving to see her mother Wednesday when her cell phone slipped off the console. As she reached down to get it, her lawyer says, she felt the crash.

Bauer's car hit and killed a man and his daughter as they walked in the road near the curb pushing her baby in a stroller, police say. Both adults died. The 1-year-old boy remained in the hospital Friday morning in critical condition.

Meanwhile, residents said they had asked the city, without success, to install speed control bumps or stop signs in the neighborhood. City officials, however, said neighborhood leaders had not followed procedures required to have a stop sign installed.

The driver's attorney, George Laughrun, told the Observer on Thursday that Bauer "wasn't texting or on the phone. And she wasn't speeding

"This could have happened to anyone. Who hasn't taken their eyes off the road just for a moment?"

Laughrun said Bauer is devastated. She called 911 after the crash, he said, and later gave police a statement.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police charged Bauer, 18, of Charlotte, with two counts of misdemeanor death by vehicle. She was released from Mecklenburg jail after posting $5,000 bond and is scheduled to make her first court appearance March 23. The charges against her are each punishable by up to 150 days in jail.

Police said Ji Sheng Lu and his daughter, Jing Lu, were walking with their backs to traffic on Corsica Forest Drive in southwest Charlotte about 11:30 a.m. Bauer, driving a 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix, approached them from behind on the residential street, which does have sidewalks. She got distracted when something fell to the floor, police say, and struck the Lu family.

Ji Sheng Lu, 66, died at the scene. Jing Lu, 37, was airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center and died about seven hours later.

Jing Lu's son was taken by ambulance to CMC.

Family members could not be reached.

Eric Jenison, who lives about a block from the crash scene, told WCNC-TV, the Observer's news partner, that a speed bump or stop sign in the area would have helped.

"They fly -- I estimate about 50 miles an hour -- and don't even hesitate," Jenison told NewsChannel 36.

Neighborhood residents asked the city in 2005 for either speed control bumps or stop signs. City officials told WCNC they conducted a survey and found an insufficient amount of traffic for a speed bump. They found, however, that vehicles in the area averaged 32 mph on streets with a 25 mph speed limit.

Jenison said that in 2009, neighbors asked for a four-way stop sign, about 50 yards from Wednesday's crash site. City officials said they sent paperwork to the neighborhood assocation and said a majority of residents must sign the petition for the stop sign. The paperwork was never returned, according to city officials.

Bauer and her parents met with Laughrun for about an hour on Thursday.

"She is very apologetic and very remorseful," Laughrun said. "This is an awful tragedy - a tragedy for everybody.

"No matter what the court does to her, this is something that she'll have to live with for the rest of her life."

WCNC-TV contributed.
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[sam]

I do not believe that if you drive 25 mile/hour, you can make the victims fly at about 50 mile/h. She was speeding. A liar and a killer!!!!!!

[another bullet]

Well I know she has Mr. George Laughrun for a lawyer. She must have money or he would not have jumped to her defense.
I don't care if they were walking with the traffic.
It was a neighborhood.
I live in a neighborhood where people walk on the road all the time, backwards, forwards, doesn't matter, you need to watch out for people out walking. Whether on the sidewalk , road, makes no difference.
But hey , that's the justice system for ya.
They pick and chose the ones they want to send to prison for a long time.
Laughrun, had my son as a client, did not defend at all. Would not work on case at all.
So what can I say. Some get away with it. But not us....

[Cooley]

I heard that da Bull is the one that called her phone and distracted her. Hopefully this will come out in the investigation.

[just an observer]

another bullet wrote:

Well I know she has Mr. George Laughrun for a lawyer. She must have money or he would not have jumped to her defense.
I don't care if they were walking with the traffic.
It was a neighborhood.
I live in a neighborhood where people walk on the road all the time, backwards, forwards, doesn't matter, you need to watch out for people out walking. Whether on the sidewalk , road, makes no difference.
But hey , that's the justice system for ya.
They pick and chose the ones they want to send to prison for a long time.
Laughrun, had my son as a client, did not defend at all. Would not work on case at all.
So what can I say. Some get away with it. But not us....

"Some get away with it. But not us"
And what pray tell did she get away with???
Your son was DRUNK this girl dropped her cell phone and may have been speeding, there is a big difference idiot.

[jimmy lee]

as if dropping a phone is an excuse. If I hit anyone with this argument, can I say I dropped my phone? It is 1st degree murder to me if driver kills pedestrian in neighborhood. Period.

[jimmy lee]

just an observer wrote:

<quoted text>
"Some get away with it. But not us"
And what pray tell did she get away with???
Your son was DRUNK this girl dropped her cell phone and may have been speeding, there is a big difference idiot.

what is the difference? I think dropping her phone and killing people is more serious than being drunk. At least you can argue you lose control while being drunk, what can you argue if you are sane and kit people? It is murder.

[Matthew]

Very tragic, but if you guys who are jumping on Sharai say you never ever ever take your eyes off the road, you're full of crap. Everyone does, it's very unfortunate for her and the victims family, she now has to live with this for the rest of her life. It could have happened to anyone of you. It happened to her. Don't jump on her case. At least she wasn't drunk.

[Seriously]

Matthew wrote:

Very tragic, but if you guys who are jumping on Sharai say you never ever ever take your eyes off the road, you're full of crap. Everyone does, it's very unfortunate for her and the victims family, she now has to live with this for the rest of her life. It could have happened to anyone of you. It happened to her. Don't jump on her case. At least she wasn't drunk.

No she was under the influence XANAX
So in other words she was drunk....

[Matthew]

Where has it said that? Cause I haven't seen it. Even still, if by chance she was on XANAX, still not the same as being drunk. I am so sorry an innocent family lost their loved ones, but this is something she will have to live with.

On another note, if you are "another bullet" the family isn't loaded with money, so your judgment of her getting the lawyer and him defending her because "she has money" is wrong.

[Shut Yer Hole]

Eye for an eye. I hope she gets the electric chair!!!!

[Matthew]

Im a very conservative person, but in this case eye for an eye is not appropriate. You can't tell me you pull over to pick something up when you're driving. It could have happened to you. Betcha wouldn't be saying eye for an eye then, huh?

[Seriously]

Matthew wrote:

Where has it said that? Cause I haven't seen it. Even still, if by chance she was on XANAX, still not the same as being drunk. I am so sorry an innocent family lost their loved ones, but this is something she will have to live with.
On another note, if you are "another bullet" the family isn't loaded with money, so your judgment of her getting the lawyer and him defending her because "she has money" is wrong.

Sorry, that may have been the other girl reaching for a cig. that ran over the two nurses.

[Matthew]

You're ignorant!

[Seriously]

Matthew wrote:

You're ignorant!

Guess so when it comes to corruption in the justice dept.

[Shut Yer Hole]

Probably reaching for a crack pipe.