Woman pleads guilty to hitting 5-year-old while driving intoxicated in DC, leaving child pinned under car
WASHINGTON - A woman has pleaded guilty to an assault after she hit a 5-year-old and her father in D.C. while driving intoxicated, dragging the child and leaving her pinned underneath her car.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C., on Dec. 19, 33-year-old Thaniyyah Veney entered a guilty plea for one count of aggravated assault while armed with a vehicle.
Prosecutors say Veney was driving through the 3200 block of 4th Street, SE around 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 8 when she drove into the child and her father as they stood on the sidewalk
Veney drove over the little girl and kept going until she hit the front steps of a home. The 5-year-old was left trapped under the car as Veney got out of the car and walked to a nearby alley.
Fast-thinking firefighters used a ladder as a makeshift lever to raise the car enough to get the little girl out. She was then airlifted to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Hours after the incident, Veney’s breath was tested and police said she had an alcohol concentration above the "per se" threshold for intoxication.
Veney’s sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 23, 2024.