The owner of the rolling vehicle that injured four children Sunday is out on bond, while three of the children are believed to be released from the hospital.
Oleksandra Y. Myrna, 32, who was charged Monday, turned herself in to Hall County Jail around 6:30 p.m., posting a $4,000 bond just after midnight. She is charged with four counts of reckless conduct relating to her 1988 Acura Legend rolling from her Price Way carport and hitting four children across the street.
When reached for comment, Myrna said she wanted to let her attorney speak for her.
“I do not like to be bothered ... English is my second language. I would not like to be misinterpreted,” she said.
Myrna hung up her phone without giving the name of an attorney. The reckless conduct charge comes from the lack of an applied emergency brake, said Georgia State Patrol Trooper Brodie Forrester.
Two of the children involved, Sebastian Rangeo, 5, and Julian Rangeo, 8, were airlifted Sunday to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. Northeast Georgia Medical Center received Emilee Guerra, 1, and Savannah Brown, 1, by ambulance from the scene. Savannah is believed to be receiving medical treatment for a back injury, Forrester said.
“Three of the children have been released. The fourth, from my understanding, is still receiving medical treatment,” Forrester said. “I think she’s got a fracture in one of her vertebrae.”
Neither Northeast Georgia Medical Center nor Children’s Healthcare had any listings Tuesday evening for any of the children involved.
When speaking with the state patrol, Myrna told troopers she doesn’t know what caused the vehicle to roll out of her carport, Forrester said.
“She thought she had the emergency brake on. She thought she had it engaged and does not recall or know how it would become unengaged or dislodged,” he said.
The timeline of the incident from Myrna’s accounts, Forrester said, begins with Myrna spending time with her neighbors for 30 to 45 minutes before coming back to her home.
“She returned back to the car to go to the store,” Forrester said. “Once she got in the car, she realized she didn’t have the keys, stepped out of the car, went inside the house and that’s when the vehicle exited the carport and rolled down the hill.”
After the medical responders left the scene, the Acura was towed. Forrester said the car and its brakes will be examined, and could not comment further on the investigation.
““We’re trying to get it to an independent, certified mechanic to take a look at the brakes, the emergency brake and see if it even works, much less if it was engaged at the time of the accident,” he said.