Anger over 1-2 year sentence for hit-run

Fifteen-year-old Marylee Otto, the girl with the big, sparkling blue eyes who brought home abandoned animals and fed homeless people, has left behind family and friends who are still reeling in pain and anguish over her death - one caused in a March hit-and-run accident.

In a shaky, tearful voice, her mother, Theresa Sautter, described in court yesterday her outrage at the female driver who fled after hitting Marylee with her Toyota Sequoia SUV.

"Even more disturbing was that you were a nurse" who was supposed to aid the dying, she said, directing her words at defendant Michelle Johnson, 40, a registered nurse.

Johnson had pleaded guilty Oct. 7 to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.

Yesterday in Common Pleas Court, she was sentenced as part of a plea agreement to one to two years in state prison, followed by three years' probation during which time she will be prohibited from driving. As part of the agreement, the prosecution withdrew other charges, including homicide by vehicle.

About 11 p.m. March 28, Johnson was driving on Rhawn Street near Lexington Avenue when she hit Marylee, who was standing in the double-yellow median lines, looking to cross to the far side of the road.

Four of Marylee's friends were on the grass, still waiting to cross the street.

After hitting Marylee, Johnson, of Lawrence Street near Nedro Avenue, in Olney, fled the scene and drove to her job at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. She was employed by Tennessee-based Prison Health Services, which fired her in April.

Yesterday, Johnson sat quietly at the defense table. About 10 supporters sat behind her, while a dozen of Marylee's family and friends sat on the prosecution side, some wearing T-shirts in memory of the teen.

Johnson's attorney, Mark S. Keenheel, turned back toward Marylee's family and said: "I just want to apologize to the family on behalf of my client." He added that the apology "is heartfelt."

Johnson chose not to speak. "No, your Honor," she told Judge Benjamin Lerner when he asked if she wanted to say anything.

Marylee's family and friends, however, had a lot to say.

On March 28, Sautter said that she kissed and hugged her daughter, who was to spend the night at a friend's house. "She turned to me and said, 'I love you more,' " Sautter told the court.

After she received a call that night from one of Marylee's friends, Sautter rushed to Frankford Hospital-Torresdale, where Marylee was not breathing. Shortly after 3 a.m. March 29, Marylee was pronounced dead.

Sautter's friend, Debbie Reyes, tearfully told the judge how Marylee's younger sister, Skylar, 5, keeps wondering when her older sister will be coming home.

After the hearing, Marylee's mother fumed over the fact that Johnson had not expressed remorse in court. She also said how she is trying to get the Legislature to increase the mandatory-minimum prison sentence for motorists who flee the scene of an accident from one-two years to five years.

She has put together a group called Families/Friends Against Hit and Run, or FAHR, and invites people interested in changing the legislation to call her at 267-975-2879.

Also in court yesterday was a family member of Kayla Peter, the 15-year-old girl who was crossing Ridge Avenue, in East Falls, the night of June 19, 2005, when she was struck by a speeding Lexus driven by a drunken Susanna Goihman, who fled the scene.

Peter's uncle, Tim Strain, said after the hearing that the one-year minimum "sickens me."

Goihman is serving a three-to-six-year prison term after pleading guilty in 2006 to homicide by vehicle and related offenses. *