By John Futty, The Columbus Dispatch
COLUMBUS – Why a woman drove her SUV off a Mifflin Township road, striking and killing a 7-month-old boy in a stroller, remains a mystery.
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But the evidence during a two-day trial this week convinced a Franklin County judge that the woman was acting recklessly when she caused the death.
Muhuba A. Mohamed, 32, was found guilty Thursday of aggravated vehicular homicide by Common Pleas Judge Laurel Beatty Blunt in the June 2, 2016, crash.
The felony conviction carries a possible prison term of one to five years, but the judge has the option of placing Mohamed on probation when she’s sentenced Nov. 29. The judge also could impose a lifetime suspension of Mohamed’s driver’s license.
Mohamed will remain free on bond while awaiting sentencing, although the judge ordered her to surrender her passport.
Mohamed, of the Northeast Side, is a native of Somalia. She did not testify during the trial, which she listened to with the help of a Somali interpreter.
She had waived her right to a jury and asked the judge to decide the case, which came down to a legal argument about whether her actions were reckless or negligent.
Assistant Prosecutors Daniel Cable and Daniel Lenert argued for recklessness, which was required for a felony conviction. Defense attorneys Sam Shamanksy and Donald Regensburger argued that their client was negligent and should be convicted of a misdemeanor.
Both sides agreed that Micah Ferebee was in a stroller being pushed by his father on the shoulder of Westerville Road, just north of Innis Road, about 5 p.m. when Mohamed’s northbound Toyota Rav4 veered off the road and struck them from behind. The SUV also ran over a mailbox, went through three yards and eventually slammed into a house.