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COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — A Murray woman is facing criminal charges accusing her of hitting a 12-year-old boy in a marked crosswalk last fall while she was under the influence of prescription medications.
Sheree Lyn Hudson-Isom, 68, was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with negligently operating a vehicle resulting in serious injury, a third-degree felony, and failing to yield to a pedestrian, an infraction.
Just after 5 p.m. on Oct. 16, Cottonwood Heights police responded to an auto-pedestrian crash at 2115 E. Fort Union Blvd. A 12-year-old boy — who was in a marked crosswalk with a friend holding an orange flag — was hit by a car, according to charging documents.
The boy was taken to a local hospital in critical condition with a severe head injury, multiple broken bones and respiratory failure and had to be intubated, the charges state.
A witness told police one car had stopped for the victim and his friend as they began crossing the street, but a Lexus in the next lane over did not, hitting one of the boys. That boy "was thrown into the air and over the Lexus before he landed in the median," the charges say.
The other boy also told police "he saw the vehicle in the right-hand lane stop for them" and he "attempted to alert (his friend) to wait until all the cars had stopped but (his friend) continued to cross and was struck by the Lexus," according to the charging documents which also note the friend was "visibly traumatized by the incident."
When the Lexus driver, Hudson-Isom, was questioned, she told police "there was heavy traffic in both directions and that she tried to slam on her brakes but could not do so in time," the charges state.
Hudson-Isom drove a short distance after hitting the boy before pulling over in the shoulder, and told police because of her recent foot surgery, she "did not feel she would be able to walk back to the pedestrian she had hit, so she waited in her vehicle," according to the court documents.
Officers, however, noted her "speech was slow and deliberate" as she spoke with them.
"Hudson-Isom stated she had taken prescription painkillers and muscle relaxers an hour prior to the accident. A field-sobriety test was conducted in which Hudson-Isom showed several signs of impairment," the charges allege.
A toxicology test later revealed oxycodone in her blood system at the time of the crash, according to the charges. Police also reported discovering Hudson-Isom was carrying a bottle with an assortment of pills, including painkillers, an anti-inflammatory pill, a muscle relaxant and a pill typically used to manage panic and anxiety disorders.
