Rochester 3-year-old was killed in S.C. by a hit-and-run driver. -- Georgia Gossip Ring

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Date Posted: 20:05:47 11/01/03 Sat
Author: Anonymous
Subject: Rochester 3-year-old was killed in S.C. by a hit-and-run driver.

Rochester 3-year-old was killed in S.C. by a hit-and-run driver.

By Bennett J. Loudon
Staff writer

(October 19, 2003) � A Virginia man was charged Saturday in a hit-and-run crash that killed a 3-year-old Rochester girl Monday in South Carolina.

Norman Blankenship, 54, of Rocky Mount, Va., was charged with leaving the scene of an accident with a fatality, said Lt. Mike Oliver of the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

About 5:30 p.m. Monday, Essence Alexander, whose third birthday was only four days earlier, was riding with her family on Interstate 77 in Chester, S.C. Their car was stopped in traffic because of an earlier fatal accident.

The car, which was driven by Essence�s grandmother, Diane Douglas, of 54 Epworth St., was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer allegedly driven by Blankenship. Essence was pronounced dead at an area hospital. Her grandmother; mother, Quiana; and Quiana�s sister, Melissa Douglas, 13, were treated for cuts and bruises.

Essence was properly restrained in a child seat, and the others wore seat belts.

�I was happy. I was relieved,� Quiana Douglas said Saturday after learning of the arrest.

The family was traveling back to Rochester from a trip to Georgia, where Essence, who participated in beauty pageants, had pictures taken, a relative said last week. Her funeral was conducted Saturday at the Pentecostal Power of Deliverance Church on Weyl Street.

The tragedy was the second for the family in four months. On May 16, Essence�s father, Demetrius Alexander, 21, was fatally shot on St. Paul Street. No arrests have been made.

Blankenship was being held without bail in Chester in Essence�s death. A bail hearing is scheduled for Monday and the case will be presented to a grand jury, Oliver said.

South Carolina police said Blankenship is accused of leaving the scene of the crash by driving down an emergency lane.

Blankenship�s employer, M.W. Manufacturing, a maker of windows and doors, noticed damage to the vehicle after Blankenship returned to the headquarters in Virginia, and contacted police. Company officials and other drivers had seen news reports of the fatal crash and suspected that Blankenship�s truck might have been involved.

Early Friday, the South Carolina Highway Patrol sent six officers, including forensic experts, about 220 miles to examine the truck in Rocky Mount, Va. After finding a broken piece of the car in which Essence was riding on the truck, the officers waited for Blankenship to return from another driving assignment.

�We confronted him when he came in and he made a statement,� Oliver said.

Oliver said Blankenship told them he swerved to avoid traffic and realized he hit something, but thought it was a guardrail.

Blankenship agreed to return to Chester with the officers early Saturday. If convicted of leaving the scene of an accident involving a fatality, he would face a sentence of one year to 25 years, plus a fine of between $10,000 and $25,000, Oliver said.

The earlier accident that caused the backup involved a construction flagman who was struck and killed by another tractor-trailer. The driver of that truck stopped.

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