Graham, NC -- The driver charged in a felon hit and run in Elon this week made her first court appearance Friday.
Robin Stanfield Ragsdale is accused of hitting Elon student Toorialey Fazley early Wednesday morning. Fazley was riding his bicycle on West Lebanon Avenue near the campus when he was hit. a
The charge comes two and a half years after Ragsdale was convicted in 2008 of hitting and killing four people in Elon.
On Friday, Judge Brad Allen said she faces up to 50 months in prison for the felony hit and run case. Ragsdale is out of jail on a $100,000 bond. She requested a court-appointed attorney. Her next court date is scheduled for Oct. 11.
Ragsdale is already serving a 60 month supervised probation from her 2008 conviction. A judge found her guilty in January 2008 of four counts of misdemeanor death by motor vehicle after she hit five people who were loading a stalled car onto a trailer on the side of University Drive in Elon.
Four of them died. Michael King, 43, Mildred Isley, Freddie Coulter and Sandra Coulter all died in that crash. A fifth person, Larry Isley, Jr was injured in that crash.
She appealed the judge's decision, but a jury also found her guilty in March 2008. Her license was suspended for one year.
"She's been through a lot, even from the last time. You can imagine. So, she ain't gotten over the first part. We'll get through this," said Roger Stanfield, her father.
"As far as taking away her license, or the actual jail time, I think he (the judge) gave her all he could," said Joel Oakley, an attorney who is not involved with either of Ragsdale's cases.
He said the suspended sentence she received in 2008 was the most she could get, given that she did not have a prior record.
"A judge could not give them jail time," he said.
Ragsdale got her driver's license back in March 2009.
"When you're dealing with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, you're talking about a misdemeanor offense, and the most you can lose your license for is one year. That's all the court can take it for. That's all the DMV can take it for," Oakley said.
"In this case, you can't fault the court system. It's one of the few times. I know I'm a lawyer. I'm not taking up for the court system. You can't bash them when they're doing all they could do. You can't bash DMV. They did all they could do. This actually lies with the legislature," Oakley said.
Now Ragsdale faces felony hit and run charges in the new case.
"If she's charged with felony hit and run, the law allows for license to be revoked for one year and the judge can find that there are sufficient factors to revoke them for two years. The laws also allows that judge may give her a driving privilege," he said.
Oakley said a judge could find that Ragsdale's latest case is in violation of her 60 month probation, and she could serve her suspended sentence from 2008.
Oakley, who is not involved with the case, said there are many factors that could go into determining what, if any, punishment Ragsdale will recieve if convicted.
"She'll get through it, but we just got to take care of her. She's just kind of very fragile right now," Roger Stanfield said.
Ragsdale did not have any comment as she left the courthouse Friday.
WFMY News 2