Driver Pleads Guilty In Crash That Killed 60-Year-Old Woman, 5-Year-Old Granddaughter In Baltimore County
LUTHERVILLE, Md. (WJZ) -- 23-year-old Callie Schwarzman pleaded guilty to two counts of automobile manslaughter in a crash that killed 60-year-old Deborah Limmer and her 5-year-old granddaughter, Delaney Gaddis.
"This is one of the worst cases I've ever had to deal with," said longtime Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger.
He is asking for the maximum of 10 years for each count.
"The family very much expressed to me over the past several weeks that they wanted some finality," Shellenberger said.
The tragedy unfolded on July 23, 2018, just before 7 a.m. near Dulaney High School
Video WJZ obtained from prosecutors shows Limmer pushing Gaddis in a stroller along Girdwood Road.
Moments later, according to prosecutors, a Kia SUV with Schwarzman behind the wheel jumps the sidewalk, striking the pair.
Schwarzman stops about a block away and rushes back toward the scene.
According to the Statement of Facts, she had THC, Klonopin, and Methadone in her system. She was also driving 44 mph in a 25 mph zone.
Neighbors complained to WJZ the street is dangerous and drivers frequently speed there.
Schwarzman told police at the time, "The power steering went out."
An examination of her vehicle found three bad tires and her power steering reservoir was empty. According to the Statement of Facts, she told a responding officer, "I know I shouldn't have driven, and I was taking it to the shop to maybe get the power steering fixed."
In an interview days after the crash, Jennifer Gaddis told WJZ, "She was my only child and now she's gone. It's hard living with that reality, and on top of it, I can't even pick up my phone and call my mother."
She held up the blanket that was covering her daughter in the stroller at the time of the crash.
"I like to think she was holding it and maybe blocking her face at that last second. She was so full of life. She did so much in the short time that she was here," she said.
Schwarzman was on probation for a DUI in Carroll County when she struck the victims.
Sentencing is scheduled for December.
