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A woman charged with careless driving after hitting and killing a Littleton middle school student in October was sentenced on Tuesday, according to court records.
Beth Ann Hutchinson, 39, pleaded guilty to careless driving resulting in death, a class one misdemeanor, in February. She was sentenced in 18th Judicial District Court to 150 hours of community service, a $1,000 fine and two years of probation, according to court records.
On Oct. 17, emergency responders received a call at 8 a.m. about a crash involving a vehicle and bicyclist at South Elati Street and West Arapahoe Drive in Littleton, according to police. Hutchinson remained on scene.
Responders performed life-saving measures, but the bicyclist, identified as 13-year-old Liam Stewart from Euclid Middle School, was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to Denver 7, in court Tuesday Liam’s father, Josh Stewart, requested Hutchinson receive a sentence of up to 14 days in jail — one day for each year Liam was alive.
“What happened to my son was not an accident. What happened to him was not a mistake. It was based on choices, bad choices. It was a choice to treat a vehicle like a sports car, not a dangerous weapon,” Stewart said before the sentencing, according to Denver 7. “It was a choice to ignore the school zone — she knew it was a school zone — there was no denying she knew, because she was rushing to drop off her own kid at that school that day.”
Judge Amy Danielle Touart denied Stewart’s request, citing Hutchinson’s clean traffic history and criminal record.
To fulfill her community service hours, Hutchinson will serve as a crossing guard at Euclid Middle School. She may be reassigned to a different school if her presence retraumatizes the community, according to Denver 7.
If Hutchinson violates the terms of her probation, she will be sentenced to a year in the Arapahoe County Jail.
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