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No jail time for Porter

For leaving the scene of an accident that killed two boys, she gets probation, house arrest and community service,

By STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Published November 4, 2005

TAMPA - Jennifer Porter, the former schoolteacher who left the scene of a 2004 accident that killed two brothers, will serve no time in jail.

A marathon hearing ended early Saturday with Porter receiving this sentence:

-- Three years of probation;

-- Two years of community control or house arrest;

-- and 500 hours of community service.

Judge Emmett Lamar Battles' sentence concluded an emotional day.

Much earlier, on Friday morning, the sobbing mother of the two young boys killed in the hit-and-run accident last year urged the judge to sentence the driver, an elementary school dance teacher, to the maximum three years in prison.

Lisa Wilkins said Jennifer Porter, 29, should be punished for not stopping after hitting her four children as they crossed the street from a park on March 31, 2004. Two siblings, Bryant Wilkins, 13, and his 3-year-old brother Durontae Caldwell, 3, were killed. Siblings Aquina Wilkins, 8, and LaJuan Davis, 2, were injured.

"No matter what we do in this courtroom, it doesn't matter because my kids are gone," Wilkins said, "Let my kids rest in peace."

Porter's attorney, Barry Cohen, told Judge Emmett Lamar Battles that his client's "brain shut down" after the accident and she was scared to stop. He is asking that she be sentenced to probation.

Lillian Porter, the first witness this morning, talked about a telephone call from her daughter. She described for the court those tense minutes between the time the car plowed into the children on 22nd Street and the time Porter drove to her dance studio.

"She was crying hysterically when she called and she said something that I couldn't understand. I was really really scared," Mrs. Porter said. "She said that a body went flying into her windshield. She said her windshield was caving in."

Porter's mother and a family friend drove to the scene of the accident while Porter waited at the dance studio. After they learned that two children had been killed they met Porter.

"She looked pale like a ghost. Her eyes were all red," Lillian Porter said. "She had this look in her eyes that I could only describe as someone who was crazy."

Lillian Porter said her daughter wanted to call police but her father stopped her. She said she slept with her daughter that night because she was afraid her daughter would harm herself. But it was a sleepless night.

"She told me to take the pillow and suffocate her with it that she wasn't fit to live. She said that two children had died and she brought shame on the family."

The day's next witness was 9-year-old Aquina Wilkins, who suffered a broken leg in the accident.

The child said it was wrong for the teacher to leave without calling an ambulance. Aquina she gets punished when she doesn't clean her room so Porter should be punished for what she did wrong.

When asked why she allowed Aquina to testify, Lisa Wilkins said she wanted the child to face her attacker, adding: "I explained to her not to hate because she had a lot of hatred in her."

Porter pleaded guilty Aug. 30 to leaving the scene of the March 31, 2004, accident. She could have faced a prison sentence of up to 15 years if convicted at trial. She was previously offered a plea deal that would have sent her to prison for three years, but her attorney said she decided to plead guilty and hope the judge would give her a lighter sentence.

The children were struck by Porter as they returned home from a community center near the newly opened elementary school where Porter was working.

She drove to her parents' home and did not come forward for five days. She said a white van had struck the children first, throwing them into her car, but investigators concluded the van wasn't involved.

She has said she didn't stop because she was too scared.

Medical examiner reports said the boys died instantly. Witnesses said the 3-year-old was dragged about 150 feet.

In documents released by prosecutors, the children's mother told investigators that she met with Porter at a law office in March.

Wilkins said Porter lied to her during that meeting. Porter said she couldn't remember the accident and wasn't the first vehicle to strike the children, Wilkins said. Porter told Wilkins she wanted to call authorities the night of the accident, but her parents told her not to.

Wilkins blamed Porter for lying and her parents for not coming forward immediately after the accident. "If she would have only told the truth from the beginning we wouldn't be here."

[Last modified November 5, 2005, 02:30:17]