Woman pleads guilty in worker's death
By Brandon Davis
Published in News on September 23, 2016 9:57 AM
Tahisha Duckett, 30, pleaded guilty to felony death by motor vehicle in Wayne County Superior Court Thursday in the 2015 death of William "Grey" Bailey.
Mrs. Duckett will serve a 64- to 84-month active sentence in prison.
She has been credited for time served.
Bailey, who was a North Carolina Department of Transportation employee, was working on U.S. 70 East near Capps Bridge Road when he was struck by Mrs. Duckett's vehicle at 10:59 a.m. on March 23, 2015. Bailey, 36, died at the scene.
Mrs. Duckett was under the influence of prescription drugs, and her 9-year-old and 2-year-old sons were riding with her in the car when she hit Bailey. She was charged with felony death by motor vehicle, driving while impaired on medication and two counts of child endangerment.
District Attorney Matthew Delbridge turned the focus on Mrs. Duckett's prescription for clonazepam, Zoloft and Prozac for depression and anxiety.
He said Mrs. Duckett tested negative for alcohol, and though she had prescriptions for her medication, her appearance and speech played a major role in her charge.
Delbridge played three videos from a trooper's dash cam, which showed Mrs. Duckett slur her speech and repeatedly told the trooper she was sleepy. In the third video, Mrs. Duckett tells the trooper she took one clonazepam at 5 a.m., but she said she couldn't feel the results. She said she took another one at 7 a.m.
Mrs. Duckett told the trooper in the video she almost fell asleep the Friday before Bailey's death when she was driving from her doctor's office around 11 a.m.
The prosecutor presented the connection between the Friday and the day of the accident being at the same time of day. Delbridge said Mrs. Duckett was aware the medications made her drowsy.
Defense attorney Walter Webster stood before Judge Ronald Stevens and said Mrs. Duckett was born in Maryland. He said she was molested by family members at age 5, and her mother was addicted to cocaine, which caused serious psychological problems for Mrs. Duckett. Webster said she moved to North Carolina when she was in high school and eventually met her husband, Kenneth Duckett, in 2009.
He said Mrs. Duckett was diagnosed with major depression disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder that year. Webster said her medication changed over the years, but in 2015, she started taking clonazepam, but he said Mrs. Duckett has a support system now with her husband, her children and her father, Dennis Waters.
Delbridge fired back with the charge of child endangerment. He said Mrs. Duckett "created a risk of death" for her children, and asked how she could risk the lives of other people in her vehicle.
Delbridge then showed Judge Stevens a photograph of Bailey, his wife Millie Bailey and his two 18-month-old twin girls. Judge Stevens allowed Mrs. Bailey to speak before the court.
Mrs. Bailey said she will no longer hear Bailey's laugh, and said moments she had with Bailey are now just memories.
"It breaks my heart a little each day," she said. "I will be responsible for walking my daughters down the aisle. There will be no father-daughter dance.
"I believe justice will be served."
Judge Stevens asked the people in the courtroom to remember the department of transportation workers and drive safely through work zones.
He looked at Mrs. Duckett and told her even though she is a good person and did not intend on killing Bailey, she will serve time for his death.
"I think the judge said correctly, 'tragedy on both sides,'" Waters said. "It's no question about that. This is painful on both sides."
Bailey's mother, Bonnie Evans, and stepfather, Fred Evans, had mixed emotions about the trial, they said, but Mrs. Evans quickly put the focus on her son.
"Grey was a good guy in his community and worked with the fire department since he was 14 years old," she said. "He was involved in Bethany Church. That was my only child."
"I think the outcome was about what I expected and I thought it was fair considering all the evidence in the case," Delbridge said. "I really appreciate Judge Stevens taking this as an opportunity to protect DOT workers."
-- News-Argus Staff Writer Ethan Smith contributed to this story.