The case of a Grand Prairie teacher, indicted in the hit-and-run death of a 6-year-old boy in January, will be presented to a grand jury again as a courtesy to her lawyer, the Dallas County district attorney's office said Thursday.
Tammy Lowe, 53, still faces charges of manslaughter and failure to stop and render aid in the death of John Raidy in January. She was indicted on those charges in February.However, Lowe's lawyer, Cameron Gray, complained that Dallas County prosecutors didn't keep their promise to let him submit information to a grand jury on behalf of Lowe.Prosecutors don't dispute that they agreed to allow the information to be submitted, said Debbie Denmon, spokeswoman for the Dallas DA's office.The agreement was approved by Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Bennett, but it slipped her mind while presenting the case to the grand jury, Denmon said.Defense lawyers typically don't appear at grand jury proceedings, and submitting defense information is not required by law.An indictment is a formal accusation. It is not a determination of guilt, which must be decided in a court trial.But prosecutors allow defense information to be submitted as a courtesy to defense lawyers, Denmon said.In Lowe's case, the DA's office agreed to pull the original indictment and will submit the case to a new grand jury, but this time with the defense lawyer's information."It's just so we can keep our word," Denmon said. "It's not a big deal to resubmit. It's a cut-and-dried case, as far as we're concerned, to get an indictment."Lowe surrendered to police on Jan. 29, five days after the boy was killed as he crossed North Carrier Parkway at Holiday Hills Drive. Police said he was hit by a southbound vehicle that ran the red light. The vehicle "stopped briefly" but then fled the scene, police said.Lowe has resigned from her job as a seventh-grade social studies teacher at Adams Middle School.Bill Miller, 817-390-7684, Twitter: @Bill_MillerSTHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
