The crash happened April 22 on Cox Road near the Liberty Way intersection. (FOX19)
24-year-old Amber Rooks died 11 days after the crash. (Provided photo)
(PHOTO: West Chester PD)
JUNE 30, 2015
WEST CHESTER, OH (FOX19)
"Our family will always grieve. Our family will always hurt,” said Amber Rooks' mother, who wishes to only be identified as Shannon.
For Shannon, her family and Rooks' 8-year old son, Tuesday wasn't any easier.
"It's extremely hard just as a mom. It's extremely hard. You should never have to bury your child, and bury your child for something so useless,” Shannon said.
Police say Michele Schuster, 23, drove into Rooks and several others at a utility worksite on Cox Road in West Chester in April.
On Tuesday, police charged Schuster with aggravated vehicular homicide connected to Rooks' death. She's also facing three other charges of aggravated vehicular assault for injuries to other workers that were hurt on the scene, and operating a motor vehicle while impaired. Schuster faced her charges in a Butler County courtroom for the first time late Tuesday afternoon after turning herself in to police.
"I understand. It's serious,” Schuster said to the judge.
In paperwork filed with the court on Tuesday, police say Schuster was driving her Chevrolet Cavalier “while voluntarily impaired on a drug of abuse (marijuana, marijuana metabolite, and alprazolam), causing her vehicle to leave her lane of travel, cross into oncoming traffic striking several pedestrians.” The complaint continues saying, “One of the pedestrians, Amber Marie Rooks, was killed as a direct result of the collision with the 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier.”
"I am unemployed. It's my first time in trouble. I'm not really sure if I'll be able to post bond,” Schuster told the judge during her hearing.
The day of the accident, Rooks was working as part of a flagging crew at the marked work site. She worked for a traffic control company called Area Wide Protective. AWP, along with Bowlin Energy Services were contracted that day by Duke Energy to perform work on Cox Road near Liberty Way.
"Some days are better than others but this just brings up a whole new pain. It's like having a scab and somebody just pulling it off,” Shannon said.
A judge set bond for Schuster at $305,000. She is expected to return to court sometime next week.
“It makes me happy that someone is being accounted for taking someone's life, ruining other people's lives and ruining a child's life,” Shannon told FOX19 NOW.
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