Bail Decision in Hit-and-Run Case Angers Residents

The NAACP is considering filing a formal complaint regarding the judge's decision, said William Braxton, president of the Charles County NAACP branch.

"The NAACP is outraged at the fact that this young lady with prior convictions of hit-and-run was able to walk away with such a small bond after running over four African American kids at a bus stop," Braxton said. He added: "If a drug-deranged African American ran into an all-white neighborhood and ran over three or four white kids, we just strongly feel that the outcome would have been different."

County Commissioner Edith J. Patterson (D-Pomfret) said that Simmons "has a pattern" and that what happened Tuesday was a "heinous act."

"These are children who are scarred, emotionally scarred," Patterson said. "You just wonder the rationale. I'm not going to second-guess Judge Cooper, but I would say it's unfortunate that a crime at this level . . . that she is allowed to have a bail set so low that she can get out and drive home."

Commission President Wayne Cooper (D-At Large) said it is "tear-jerking" to see the injured children in pain.

He said that if the judge had seen the child with pins sticking out of his legs, "he might have reconsidered his decision. It was very confusing to me that a $50,000 bond would've been the amount that was established for the lady with her past history."

The commissioner added, "What would keep her from doing this again?"

Staff writer Megan Greenwell contributed to this report.