UPDATE: Criminal Court Judge Tom Greenholtz delays sentencing of Valerie Bray in the fatal hit-and-run of local runner Cameron Bean until March 3.
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The Times Free Press has obtained a court record that fully outlines the defense’s perspective about what happened during the accident.
Last week, Valerie Bray gave her first interview since Sept. 19, 2015, when police say she struck Cameron Bean on Moccasin Bend Road and kept driving. Bean, 28, died from his injuries two days later.
Her attorney, Bill Speek, did not let her discuss the accident during that interview. But in a sentencing memorandum filed Monday in Criminal Court, Speek gave her side:
On Sept. 19, 2015, Bray was working second shift at Moccasin Bend Mental Health Facility and left during her lunch break to grab food for herself and other coworkers at a local Mexican restaurant.
On the way back, a mile away from the facility, Bray said she struck a deer that crossed her path, the record says. “She stopped her vehicle and was not able to observe any injured animal.”
Then she continued driving to Moccasin Bend and reported the accident to the first person she found there, the record says. She had glass in her face and hair, it added.
Around the same time, two cyclists who were riding on Moccasin Bend Road noticed a shoe in the roadway, the record says. After investigating, they discovered Bean’s body, which had been thrown from the roadway into a ditch about two feet off the roadway, the record says.
Bray, who was indicted four months after the accident, recently pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and criminally negligent homicide, which are both class E felonies.
“Without excusing her behavior,” Speek wrote, “[Bray] would show her sincere belief at the time of the accident was that she collided with an animal and not a person.”
Speek is asking the court to consider Bray for alternative sentencing, such as probation, because of her medical condition, acceptance of the crime, and social history.
“She suffers from Multiple Sclerosis as well as fatigue, numbness and pain,” he wrote. “She continues to receive treatment for this disease. She has acute compression in her spine in the lumbar region that causes pain and discomfort. This condition forces her to use a cane for mobility.”
The difference between the defense and the prosecution ultimately boils down to whether Bray stopped, records show.
In a similar record that includes their recommendation on sentencing, the prosecution said Bray should spend at least three months in prison and two years on probation.
“Ms. Bray crossed completely across the road and struck Bean from behind,” Executive Assistant District Attorney Lance Pope wrote. “After the impact, Bray continued driving on the shoulder of the road, having realized that she had been in an accident, before correcting her path of travel.”
There was no evidence to suggest that Bray stopped and tried to figure out what she hit, Pope said.
And Bray’s five prior misdemeanor convictions, the last one being 27 years ago, should be used to enhance her possible sentence, he added.
Pope also included an excerpt from the police’s interview with Bray on Sept. 19, 2015, where she received treatment:
“I was coming back from lunch, driving down the road. The sun was in my face, I swerve from hitting deer and I did not see anyone else. I just heard something hit the car. I did not know what it was.”
This is a developing story. Follow along while the Times Free Press gives live updates from the hearing.
EARLIER STORY:
The 60-year-old woman who pleaded guilty to mortally injuring a Chattanooga runner when she drove into him on Moccasin Bend Road will be sentenced today.
Valerie Bray, who apologized last week for the accident, faces one to two years in prison for both of her class E felonies, criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of an accident. She pleaded guilty to the charges in December.
Criminal Court Judge Tom Greenholtz will make his ruling after listening to testimony from Bray and her victim’s family at 1:30.
Greenholtz will consider several factors: Bray’s 20-year career at the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute, her handful of misdemeanor arrests from the 1980s, and the impact of her crime on the victim’s family.
Police say Bray kept driving on Moccasin Bend Road on Sept. 19 after she swerved into Cameron Bean while he was running against traffic along the side of the road. Two days later, Bean, 28, died from his injuries.
He worked to become of the top runners in the country in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, family members said, and returned to his native city one month before the accident. Prior to that, he spent five years running professionally at an outfit in North Carolina.
Bray, who has not spoken about what caused the accident, initially told police she could not see because of the sun in her eyes. After analyzing her cellphone, police said she most likely wasn’t texting and driving, court records show.
She was indicted in January 2016 and has been out on bond since that time.