The man accused of hitting a woman and her 3-year-old child and then driving away from the scene in November 2014 was acquitted Friday.
A jury spent just 90 minutes deliberating before declaring Dean Cepukenas, 71, of Wind Point, not guilty of critically injuring Genie Webb who was 36 weeks pregnant at the time of the accident, a story in The Journal Times reads.
The accident also injured Webb’s 3-year-old daughter and triggered the delivery of her baby son by emergency C-section. Luckily, the little girl’s injuries were limited to scrapes and bruises, but Webb and her son spent several days in hospital with Webb’s family worried about whether or not she would recover. They were both home a couple of weeks after the incident and are doing fine now.
Cepukenas was originally charged with two counts of hit/run causing great bodily harm and one count of hit/run causing injury, but the charges were reduced to three counts of failure to stop and render aid, the story continues.
He was on his way home from Scores Bar & Grill on Washington Avenue when he hit Webb in the intersection of Gould and Main Streets. Cepukenas maintained that he never saw Webb, a claim prosecutors say was impossible given how well-lit that area is at night.
Â