HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- No charges will be filed against the driver who struck and killed two-year-old Chaney Simpson at the St. Luke’s Apartments in Henrico County.
Simpson was with her family headed to the swimming pool when she was killed on July 24 after she "darted out between two parked cars," according to Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor.
Taylor announced that the driver would not be charged with the child's death after an investigation that included a video of the incident.
"The driver stopped immediately, was not speeding and was not violating any traffic laws, and has cooperated thoroughly with the investigation into the incident," Taylor said in a statement. "The mother was also behaving responsibly. We are closing the case without any criminal charges filed."
“I saw that car and then everybody yelling my name. I ran to my baby,” Simpson's mother Ashley Hope said days after the crash. “She was full of life."
Chaney Simpson, who Hope said loved bright colors and unicorns, died in her mother's arms.
“I watched my daughter take her last breath," Hope said. “I tried to hold my baby. I tried to make sure she wouldn’t leave me, but God had other plans for her.”
Taylor concluded her statement by calling what happened a "horrific tragedy, an accident almost beyond comprehension."
"All out there who witnessed the event, to include the driver, have suffered unimaginable trauma," Taylor said. "The family, their friends, will never recover from the loss of this small child and the loss of a life filled with potential. My heart goes out to all involved, the parents and the family, and my prayers are with them. I pray they find peace and comfort in their profound grief."
