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Girl hit, driver charged with DUI

The man said he'd taken oxycodone the night before. The girl is expected to survive.

By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published March 9, 2007

	Sheriff's deputies arrest Edgar A. Hilton, charging him with DUI with personal injury and driving with an expired license.
[Times photo: Carrie Pratt]

TAMPA - Edger A. Hilton, 44, had already racked up seven speeding tickets in 18 years. He'd been cited for ignoring a traffic device, driving with a suspended license and driving with no insurance. His most recent conviction was just last week.

Then, at 6:51 a.m. Thursday, deputies say Hilton drove while intoxicated, ran a red light and hit a little girl at a school crosswalk.

The girl, 9-year-old Maryam El-Noursi, was treated in the emergency room at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital and was expected to survive.

Hilton, of 15505 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., was charged with DUI with personal injury and driving with a license that expired more than a year ago, records show. He was released from the county jail on $750 bail.

Nearly a dozen people under age 20 have died in Hillsborough County crashes in recent months.

Hilton told deputies he took three oxycodone pills at 10 p.m. the night before the crash. At the scene, his eyes watered and his speech was slurred, investigators said. He had to lean against his car to stand.

Interviewing him proved difficult because he kept falling asleep, deputies said.

The Sheriff's Office drew blood to test for alcohol but did not immediately have results.

Hilton's driving problems date at least to 1989, when authorities cited him for driving with a suspended license and driving 70 mph in a 55 zone, according to his Florida driving record. It's unclear why his license was suspended at the time.

On March 2, he was again convicted of speeding, this time for driving 59 in a 35 mph zone, state records show.

While deputies spoke with Hilton on Thursday morning, emergency crews flew Maryam to St. Joseph's Children's Hospital.

Her grandmother, Hilda Ferrer, 63, said the girl had bruises all over her body. Doctors planned to keep her for observation for two days to be sure she didn't have internal bleeding, Ferrer said.

"I don't know how bad she is inside yet," Ferrer said.

Maryam lives with her mother, her grandmother and her two siblings, Jamillicia El-Noursi, 8, and Daryl Cruz, 12, at the Canterbury Lane Apartments, a sprawling complex on Skipper Road.

Each morning, Maryam walks to class at nearby Mort Elementary School. The school, on the north side of busy Bearss Avenue, has 940 students.

A 20 mph speed limit is posted in front of the school. The school district has a good system in place to protect the many students who walk to the school, said school district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe.

"I don't think there's much more we can do than having a crossing guard, a crosswalk and a traffic light," Cobbe said.

School officials sent letters home asking parents to review safety precautions with children.

A crisis team visited the school Thursday. That morning, school officials announced over the intercom that Maryam was going to be all right.

Maryam's grandmother and family hoped that was true.

Ferrer learned about the accident by phone and panicked.

The feeling hadn't disappeared by late afternoon.

"I'm still shaking," she said as she gripped a coffee mug tightly.

She seemed to relax only after she thumbed through family photographs of her smiling granddaughter.

News researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Abbie VanSickle can be reached at (813) 226-3373.

A look back

Crashes involving young people have made news in recent months. But rarely have they led to criminal charges.

Oct. 8, 2006: Tyler Clark, 17, hits an unmarked median in Brandon with his Jeep Sahara and veers off the road into a tree. Seven teen passengers are hurt. Clark dies in the crash.

Oct. 9, 2006: Ismelys Regalado, 10, is killed when her family's car is hit by a driver in Ruskin. Deputies arrested the driver, 24-year-old Andy Claudio, on Thursday.

Oct. 13, 2006: A car flies off a curve in Ruskin and hits a tree, killing passenger Callie Lynn Roberts, 16. The crash remains under investigation. No charges have been filed against the driver, 16-year-old Zachary Carroll.

Oct. 18, 2006: A newly licensed 16-year-old driving his father's truck clips Fredrick Gardner's bike along Bullfrog Creek in Gibsonton. Gardner, 15, is killed. The driver, 16-year-old Andrew Leight, was cited for following too closely and speeding. No criminal charges were filed.

Dec. 4, 2006: Camden White, 15, dies after being struck by a driver while crossing a street near Brandon High School. The driver, substitute teacher Kami Bell, 22, was cited for failure to use due care. No criminal charges were filed.

Feb. 11: Four people - including 19-year-olds Ashley Blagburn, Richard Forbes and Jennifer Sawyer - die when the car they're riding in is hit by a pickup on U.S. 301 in Thonotosassa. Troopers said pickup driver Danny S. Lamb Jr., 33, crashed into the car while passing vehicles. Lamb died in the crash.

March 5: Yachira M. Caraballo-Aguilar, 17, lost control of a Ford Explorer on her way to Tampa Bay Technical High School. The crash killed Caraballo-Aguilar's passenger, Monica, 16. The crash remains under investigation.

[Last modified March 9, 2007, 06:13:48]