DAYTON — A man has admitted to hitting and dragging a 9-year-old girl with his car in 2024.
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News Center 7’s Mike Campbell was in court and will have the latest LIVE on News Center 7 at 5:00.
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Jeffrey Atkinson pleaded guilty to four of the five counts he was facing.
Atkinson’s trial was scheduled to shut down Wayne Avenue for a period of time next week, as prosecutors planned to show a jury the crash site.
Now that won’t happen.
A judge called a last-minute plea deal hearing to order.
It was made just three days before Atkinson’s trial was set to begin.
It means a jury will not see the videos and pictures from July 9, 2024.
The Escalante family was using a crosswalk when Atkinson turned left onto Wayne Avenue.
His SUV took 9-year-old Ashley off her bike, then dragged her almost a half mile.
911 callers flooded dispatch lines, while other witnesses followed Atkinson to a bar he managed and pointed him out to police.
>>RELATED: ‘I’m drunk;’ Body camera shows arrest of driver accused of dragging 9-year-old with SUV
News Center 7 obtained body camera video from officers trying to give him a sobriety check, which he couldn’t complete.
Prosecutors said the victim’s family agreed to the deal.
“She understood that if it did happen, it could happen today and did not wish to be present,” prosecutors said in court.
News Center 7’s Mike Campbell caught up with Ashley’s father, Carlos Escalante, and her mother, Mayra Martinez, last July.
“I got to the passenger window, and I watch his face, and I say ‘Stop, Please Stop!’” Carlos said.
>>RELATED: ‘I really am grateful;’ 9-year-old hit, dragged by drunk driver thankful for those who helped her
Carlos said Ashley has a prosthetic leg and had to re-learn to walk.
She’s endured multiple surgeries and undergone endless therapy.
“That breaks my heart because it’s my princess, my daughter,” Carlos said.
Atkinson has been in jail since the night of the crash.
Soon, he’ll be headed for state prison.
The plea deal required Atkinson to plead guilty to four of the five charges against him, including aggravated vehicular assault and OVI.
If he were convicted at trial, he could have faced nine to 14 years, but the agreed-upon range for this plea deal is four to seven years in prison.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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