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Friday, April 25, 1997

Grandmother receives deferred adjudication in air bag death

WHARTON, Texas (AP) - A woman whose 2-year-old grandson was decapitated by her car's air bag has been given two years' deferred adjudication after she accepted a plea bargain and pleaded no contest to child endangerment.

The prosecution dropped charges of intoxication manslaughter, manslaughter and a second charge of endangerment against Ruby Mae Fields, 35, of El Campo.

Mrs. Fields has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against General Motors Corp., the manufacturer of her 1995 Geo Metro, in connection with the Dec. 22 death of Montrey Jones, 2.

A Wharton County grand jury indicted Mrs. Fields in January.

The woman told police the air bag deployed when she swerved to avoid another car as she was driving her grandson and a 6-year-old nephew around El Campo to view Christmas decorations.

Police said both children were in the front seat, but the grandson was not wearing a seat belt.

Officers said Mrs. Fields went through a stop sign and left 39 feet of skid marks.

The woman had been drinking, but was not legally intoxicated, and had been taking flu medication at the time of the accident, Wharton County District Attorney Josh McCown said.

"Some people say she suffered enough," McCown said Wednesday. "That's not my determination. I didn't feel uncomfortable at all about taking it to a grand jury."

Defense lawyer John McDowell of Houston said that prosecutors knew they had no case.

"It's just awful what they did to her," McDowell said of the case, which was reviewed by the grand jury twice.

The two-year deferred adjudication term, set by state District Judge Daniel Sklar, is a form of probation that will clear the conviction from her record if she completes the probation successfully.

McCown said the case against the woman was never about serving time in prison.

"It was about being responsible for your own conduct," he said. "I think justice was served."

Wharton is about 70 miles southwest of Houston. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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