Alford plea in vehicular manslaughter case
SANDPOINT — A Bonner County woman who accidentally killed her daughter in a single-vehicle crash on Bayview Road is entering a conditional plea to resolve her case.
Brittney Danielle Bullock entered an Alford plea to a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge on Tuesday, court records show. Under the plea, Bullock admits no wrongdoing in the case but concedes she could be convicted if the case went to trial.
The plea will be regarded no differently than a plea of guilt when she’s sentenced on Feb. 1. She is free on her own recognizance while the case is pending.
Idaho State Police said Bullock was westbound on Bayview Road when she skidded over logging slash on the roadside and lost control of her 1998 Honda Accord. The car crashed into a stand of trees, splitting open the vehicle.
Bullock’s 6-year-old daughter was thrown from the wreckage and fatally injured. Bullock’s 11-year-old daughter was seriously injured, according to court documents.
State police concluded that nobody in the vehicle was wearing seat belts or seated in safety seats, a police report states. Bullock told investigators that she was traveling at approximately 25-30 mph, although police suspect she was driving faster than that based on the degree of deformity to the Honda, the report said.
The deadly crash occurred on Sept. 6, 2016, the first day of class for students in the Lake Pend Oreille and West Bonner school districts.
Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Roger Hanlon filed an amended criminal complaint in the case which outlined a number of acts which contributed to the child’s death. They include careless or inattentive driving, driving too fast for conditions, veering outside her lane of travel, using excessively worn tires and neglecting to utilize safety restraints for minors.
In exchange for a plea to the manslaughter charge, a misdemeanor charge of injury to a child will be dismissed. The state and the defense have agreed to recommend a 180-day jail sentence with 150 days suspended and 30 days to serve at the court’s discretion, court records indicate.
Bullock, 29, would also be placed on supervised probation for two years, although her probation officer has the discretion to convert it to unsupervised after one year, according to court documents.
Under the terms of the plea, Bullock would be allowed to rescind her Alford plea and proceed to trial if the sentencing court declines to adopt its terms.