EKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The mother of a Clarkston girl killed by a negligent driver told Channel 2 Action News she’s satisfied the driver will only spend 30 days in jail.
Prosecutors said Desert Storm veteran Gregory Armwood illegally passed a MARTA bus in August 2009, striking then 6-year-old Suk Maya Monger as she and her mother crossed East Ponce De Leon Avenue in Clarkston.
Monger died at the hospital. She and her family had only been in Atlanta a few months after emigrating from Nepal.
Wednesday, Armwood agreed to a plea deal that netted him a month behind bars. Under the agreement, Armwood will also have to relinquish his driver’s license for a year and go on probation for the same term.
Monger’s mother, Rupa, told Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik she is fine with the short jail sentence.“I’m sad but at the same time I’m also happy because he got some punishment,” she told Petchenik through an interpreter.
Monger told Petchenik that she forgives Armwood for what happened, but that she misses her daughter terribly.“I used to look at the photo and get very sad,” she said. “I’m in tears all the time when I see my daughter,” said Monger.
DeKalb County Solicitor General Nicole Marchand told Petchenik she agreed to the plea agreement based on the facts of the case.“This was someone, Mr. Armwood, who immediately was remorseful and has been trying to contact to the family and apologize for the longest,” she said.
“This was not a gentleman who woke up on that morning and made a decision in his mind that he was going to kill someone.”Marchand told Petchenik the charge of second degree vehicular homicide is a misdemeanor that would carry a maximum penalty of one year in jail.
Armwood’s attorney, Kevin Almeroth, wouldn’t comment on the plea deal but he did confirm to Petchenik that Armwood’s sentence had begun. He told Petchenik the situation was a “tragedy.”