Driver in Ruston service road fatality pleads not guilty

The driver accused of killing one man and injuring another in an incident that occurred in October on the I-20 south service road has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Abby Sterling, 20, of Shreveport, entered the pleas in 3rd District Court here in November, according to documents filed in the case.

Sterling is charged with vehicular homicide in the death of Jackson Mitcham, 21, of Sterlington, and first-degree vehicular negligent injury of Hahn Bridges, 20, of Monroe.

Authorities say Sterling was drunk when she hit the two men in the early morning hours of Oct. 19. Both the victims and driver were believed to have been coming from The Revelry, a popular bar on the service road, not far from where the accident happened.

Sterling was originally charged with two counts of first-degree negligent injury. The bill of information filed by the 3rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office upped one of the charges to vehicular homicide because of Mitcham’s death.

Sterling reportedly told police she was driving east on the service road, and Mitcham and Bridges were standing in the middle of the road. She said she tried to stop but didn’t have enough space to avoid hitting them, her arrest affidavit said.

Police found the victims lying on the north shoulder of the road and Sterling’s Silver Nissan Altima stopped in the left-hand lane. The vehicle had major damage to the front end and windshield.

According to Sterling’s arrest affidavit, her blood alcohol content was more than twice the limit considered intoxicated under Louisiana law.