Amazon driver gets 45 days in jail after running over woman in crosswalk, driving away

Chelsey Douglas waited outside a courtroom in Baltimore for an expected guilty plea from a former Amazon delivery driver who hit her in a crosswalk, ran over her and left her with nine broken ribs and five fractured vertebrae.

She wanted a judge to spare him jail time.

“I feel like we’re on two sides of the same trauma,” Douglas, 29, of Baltimore, said in an interview before the hearing. “I’m sure it weighs heavy on his heart. I’ve seen the remorse he’s shown.”

The driver who hit Douglas on Feb. 18 in Butchers Hill, Jerome Young Jr., had exited the van, walked over to her and asked, “How did you manage to get hit?” Baltimore Police reported. He then climbed back into the vehicle and left.

A surveillance camera captured the hit-and-run.

But Baltimore Circuit Judge Piper F. McKeithen on Monday rejected a plea agreement that called for Young to serve no jail time, describing it as “extremely lenient.”

Young, 26, of Dundalk, then pleaded guilty to two counts in the hit-and-run. The new plea deal calls for a sentence of one year, suspending all but 90 days, with the first 45 days on round-the-clock home detention and the next 45 days in jail, plus two years of supervised probation. He also must complete programs through the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration and Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

Assistant State’s Attorneys Taylor Miller and Stephanie Maddox told McKeithen that Douglas supported the original plea agreement and wanted to show leniency.

Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates also reviewed the case.

In a statement, Bates said his office viewed Young as a “young person who made a grave mistake, but one without malicious intent.”

Bates extended his deepest sympathies to Douglas and added that she “bravely continues her painful journey of healing and confronts each day with the reminders of this traumatic experience.”

Assistant Public Defender Catherine Tarantino, Young’s attorney, said her client turned himself in to police, spoke to detectives and cooperated with the investigation.

Young, she said, is no longer a delivery driver. He does not have a criminal record or will be able to drive for quite some time, Tarantino said.

“It’s a very poor judgment call on his part,” Tarantino said. “This event has been extremely eye-opening for him.”

McKeithen was not swayed.

She directed both sides to come up with a new plea agreement that included jail time and then called a recess.

When court resumed, Young indicated that he still wanted to plead guilty in the case.

Young stood next to his attorney as McKeithen explained the rights that he was giving up. Throughout the hearing, she chided him.

“Please don’t cross your arms,” the judge said, adding later, “Mr. Young, you’re looking out the window again.”

Before McKeithen imposed the sentence, Young said he wanted to wholeheartedly apologize to Douglas and acknowledge that his crime turned her life upside down.

Douglas said she has not been able to work and described her recovery as a process. Though she’s doing better, she added, “It’s rough.” She said she wanted to thank everyone who’s shown support.

“The actions I took that day — it wasn’t the right choice,” Young said.

In the back row of the courtroom gallery, Douglas used a tissue to wipe back tears.