A judge dropped the most serious charge against a driver who killed an infant in a stroller.
The judge granted the prosecutor's motion to drop the involuntary manslaughter charge against John Miller IV Tuesday.
Five-month-old Tristan Schulz died after Miller's SUV plowed into the infant's mother, Mindy Schulz, and the baby's stroller in Lansdowne, Virginia, Aug. 31, 2016. Miller was turning onto Riverside Parkway, and the mother and child were in the crosswalk.
A witness to the devastating crash said Miller was using his cellphone. But other witnesses said he was driving normally, and cellphone records do not definitively prove that Miller was using his phone at the moment he crashed into the mother and infant, court records show.
Prosecutors said they can't prove involuntary manslaughter beyond a reasonable doubt.
“I actually felt like he sounded more like the defense attorney than the prosecutor," said Elizabeth Freeman, a Lansdowne resident who went to court with her husband hoping for justice for Tristan. "I felt like he should’ve been there pushing for proper charges.”
"I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to comment at this time,” said Miller's attorney, Steve Webster.
A Loudoun County grand jury previously indicted Miller on three counts: Involuntary manslaughter, reckless driving and failure to yield. A judge must decide whether charges should be dropped.
Miller is scheduled to face the reckless driving and failure to yield charges in October.
