A Philadelphia woman waived her preliminary hearing this week in the fatal hit-and-run car accident that took the life of a high school senior from Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania. Nineteen-year-old Stephanie Phillips is charged with an accident involving death or personal injury, a felony, and driving with a suspended or revoked driver's license. By waiving her hearing, Phillips admitted there is evidence to try the case in court. Phillips is free on bail awaiting a July arraignment in Montgomery County Court. If convicted, she could be sentenced to 3 1/2 to 7 years in prison.
According to police, while traveling east on Germantown Pike near Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, Phillips' car struck 17-year-old Denise Cotteta but did not stop when the girl stepped into the dark roadway on March 28. Phillips told police investigators she "panicked" after hitting the high schooler who died at the hospital. When police stopped Phillips' car not far from the accident site, she admitted her part in the personal injury accident. Philadelphia personal injury attorneys note that had Phillips stopped and stayed at the accident scene, she would not have been charged with a felony as investigators have determined that Cotteta walked into the car's path. However, leaving the scene of a personal injury car accident is a felony.
Eyewitnesses said Cotteta was among a group of Plymouth Whitemarsh High School students who had been partying to celebrate the school basketball team's state championship win. While some of the students had been drinking, investigators said Cotteta's blood alcohol level was well below the legal limit.
Philadelphia car accidents are never black and white. As this case shows, investigation by law enforcement authorities and Philadelphia personal injury lawyers is often required to discover all the facts of a personal injury car accident. This accident shattered two young lives. Philadelphia personal injury lawyers work to help put the pieces back together.
