The man at the center in the hit and run of a Knox County student at a bus stop pleads guilty.
Harley Bittle, III pled guilty to Reckless Endangerment, a Class E felony according to the Knox County District Attorney’s Office. He received a sentence of one year on Judicial Diversion, and restitution will be handled through civil means.
This came after a representative with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said charges would not be filed. KCSO followed up, saying Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler would be meeting with DA Charme Allen to decide whether charges will be coming. The sheriff’s office crash report does contain some more information about what happened, including the fact that the driver ended up calling the office to say they may have been the one to hit the student.
The student, who was hit last August, appeared in court and said she forgave Bittle during her victim-impact statement.
According to the report, the student was sitting at the stop on last August with her legs in the road near Hughlan Drive and Thorton Drive. It was then that the driver, Bittle, was turning onto Thorton Drive, hit her. Bittle reportedly told Police he thought he had just run over a blanket, not a person, so he drove away.
