Quote:
Originally Posted by Belfae
 What....she killed a kid????? |
Gayheart Charged With Manslaughter
3 October 2001 (WENN)
E! Online reports that the Los Angeles City Attorney has filed manslaughter charges against Rebecca Gayheart over an automobile accident where she killed a 9-year-old boy. According to reports, the boy was crossing in the middle of the street, not within a crosswalk, and cars stopped to let him pass. Gayheart, travelling about 40 miles per hour, swung around the cars to pass them in a median lane for left turns and struck the boy, who later died of his injuries. The misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge could cost Gayheart up to a year in jail, a one-year license suspension and a $1,000 fine if found guilty, though the wrongful death lawsuit filed by his parents could cost her much more. The manslaughter charge was filed instead of more serious ones as there was no evidence that Gayheart was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time.
Gayheart Settles Death Suit
25 January 2002 (WENN)
Actress Rebecca Gayheart has settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the parents of a boy she knocked down last year . The stunning actress, 29, struck down and killed nine-year-old Jorge Cruz Jr. in Hollywood last June as he jaywalked across a busy highway. The boy's parents Jorge Cruz Sr. and Silvia Martinez filed a suit against Gayheart in August, blaming her negligence as the cause of their's son death. On Wednesday it was announced both parties' lawyers came to an amicable agreement in December but details would not be disclosed. Gayheart paid for the boy's hospital and funeral expenses and offered to pay for the couple to have grief counselling, but it is unknown whether she made a cash payment to the Cruz family. Gayheart was plead no contest to a charge of vehicular manslaughter in November and had her licence suspended for a year, received a $2,800 fine and was ordered to do 750 hours of community service.