Virginia court upholds Dinwiddie woman's 2021 conviction for crashing car with kids inside
RICHMOND — The Virginia Court of Appeals has upheld a Dinwiddie County woman's conviction on a child-abuse charge from a 2020 single-vehicle crash where four children riding with her were not wearing any protective restraints and two of them were thrown from the car upon impact.
In the appeal, the lawyer for Channiece Argean Rose admitted that his client had been drinking prior to the crash, but it was her negligence behind the wheel, not alcohol consumption, that was responsible for the wreck. In a ruling released Tuesday morning, the appellate court disagreed, saying that Rose's appearance and demeanor at the scene proved that wrong.
Rose, 32, was convicted last year in Dinwiddie Circuit Court of child abuse with reckless disregard for human life. She was sentenced to five years in jail with three-and-a-half years suspended.
The incident happened around 6:35 p.m. May 22, 2020 on Old Stage Road near Old Bole Road in Dinwiddie. Court records indicated that Rose and her father had been drinking at her house when they began to argue and he abruptly left the scene. According to the reports, Rose said she "threw her kids in her vehicle" and went after him. At one time, she claimed, her father was driving "really fast" and she was speeding to catch up with him.
As she attempted to call him on her mobile phone, Rose lost control of the vehicle. Virginia State Police records indicated the car struck "several groups of trees" and overturned twice. None of the four kids in the car were in any kind of safety restraint.
Two children, a nine- year-old an a three-year-old, were ejected from the vehicle and suffered injuries consistent with "road rash," which are abrasions caused by striking and sliding on a paved road. The nine-year-old was found lying in the road with a head injury, and the three-year-old was found in a roadside ditch about five feet from the car and covered with debris. Both were taken to a local hospital for treatment.
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In oral arguments before the Court of Appeals, attorney Steven Hanna argued that the wreck was caused by negligent driving. Since there were no roadside sobriety or blood tests administered, Hanna said there was no proof that alcohol was a factor.
The appeals court disagreed, noting original testimony from the investigating trooper that Rose "exhibited signs of intoxication, including bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and the odor of alcohol on her breath." It also cited "undisputed" facts that Rose had admitted to drinking alcohol prior to the incident.
The trial court in Dinwiddie was correct for examining the "totality of the circumstances" in reaching the verdict, the appellate court ruled.
"The record established that appellant consumed alcohol and failed to properly restrain her three-year-old passenger before driving 'really fast' on a curved road while using a cell phone, causing an accident of such magnitude as to twice overturn the vehicle and eject children to their injury," Appeals Court Judge James Haley wrote in the opinion. "In addition, contrary to appellant’s assertion on brief, appellant’s manner of driving clearly was reckless. Collectively, that evidence amply supports the trial court’s conclusion that the evidence proved appellant’s guilt."
According to online jail records, Rose is being held at the Meherrin River Regional Jail in Brunswick County. She is scheduled to be released Aug. 29.
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Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com.
This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Dinwiddie woman's child abuse conviction upheld by VA appellate court
