Friends Of Teen Hit, Killed Seek Additional Charges, Higher Bail For Driver


App users, tap here to watch video report.

JAMESTOWN – Friends of a teenager hit and killed by a semi-truck on New Year’s Eve in Jamestown are petitioning for the driver of the truck, accused in her death, to stay in police custody and face additional charges. 

The fatal car crash that killed 15-year-old Alexis “Lexi” Hughan has put a lot of strain on family and friends; especially with the threat of the driver walking free.





City of Jamestown Police say Lexi was crossing West 6th Street near Washington Street around 12:30 p.m. New Year’s Eve when she was allegedly hit by Randall Rolison’s 18-wheel car carrier.

He is charged with felony leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident and driving while ability impaired by drugs.

A Chautauqua County Grand Jury also indicted Rolison with three counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon after investigators allegedly found three unregistered handguns inside of his Town of Busti storage unit.





















Leo/Seira Allison, Alyssa Spitale, and Joshua Skinner, friends of Lexi, set up a petition to raise Rolison’s bail. Their reasoning, because they feel the amount is not enough for a human life.

“I don’t understand how you can charge less for taking a person’s life than holding weapons,” explained Skinner. “It was just very confusing to me and I thought that Lexi deserves more, everyone deserves more especially with bail.”

“I don’t think weapons should cost as much as a human life,” stated Allison

The hope, the three explain, is for the petition is to raise Rolison’s bail, and keep him behind bars, until justice is served.









“Lex deserves justice,” explained Spitale. “He really should not be walking the streets right now, because he could be a danger to others.”

Additionally, the trio want additional legal action by law enforcement.

“Charge him with Vehicular Manslaughter, because that’s what it was,” stated Skinner.

The Jamestown Police Department says additional charges are likely, pending results of a toxicology report submitted to a state crime lab.

In a statement to WNY News Now, Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said: “From the day this happened going forward, I have been actively involved in the investigation and working to develop the evidence necessary to proceed with appropriate charges stemming from Alexis’s death.”

“What happened here is every parent’s absolute worst nightmare and I share in the community’s shock and concern.  My heart goes out to Alexis’s family.  I just want everyone to know that this is an active investigation and to please hold off on drawing any conclusions about the initial charges filed until we have all the evidence available to us.”

The petition currently has over 1,500 signatures. Lexi’s friends and family plan to celebrate what would be her 16th birthday on Thursday.

 

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.