Via Biking In L.A. comes news that Angelina Everett, the driver who ran down city employee and community activist Ed Magos in January, has plead "no contest" to two misdemeanor charges for leaving the scene of a collision resulting in physical injuries and property damage. While it's doubtful that Everett will face any jail time, after all she only crippled a person and left him lying in the street it's not like she meant to hurt him, this outcome is still much better than what was expected after the City Attorney and District Attorney took a pass on prosecuting Everett last winter.
On the morning of January 6th, Magos was riding to work on his bicycle when he was struck by Everett who was driving a Cayman. Everett fled the scene, leaving Magos lieing dazed and bleeding in the street. Later, after Magos was in the hospital and finding his attacker was already a cause celeb among cyclists, Everett turned herself in to the LAPD saying she "might have hit something."
The police let her go after taking a statement. Then things got weird.
Following up with LAPD, Carlos Morales of the Eastside Bike Club and La Voz newspapers got his hands on a press release which he published in the Streetsblog comments section. It turns out that the LAPD brass didn't approve the release and a controversy broke out what to do with the information contained therein. Eventually, Streetsblog scrubbed Everett's name from the release and let the rest stand, after Stephen Box served as a conduit between myself and the LAPD leadership. However, some statements in the release showed that the LAPD itself wasn't all that clear about hit and run laws.
In late February, news broke that both the City Attorney and District Attorney would not be pressing charges against a woman who had basically admitted to the crime. More outrage ensued.
A couple of days later, after the LACBC organized a ride protesting the C.A. and D.A.'s decisions to Chief Beck's Town Hall meeting with cyclists in City Hall; Beck announced that the City Attorney would take a second look at the case. Eventually, they decided to press the two misdemeanor charges listed above.
Yesterday, Everett pleaded guilty. But the story doesn't end there, sentencing won't take place until November 1. We'll keep you posted.
