By Associated Press - Saturday, July 25, 2020

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - A pregnant woman jailed following an automobile crash that killed a child has been granted a limited release from jail.

Aubrey Newsome, 27, has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including vehicular homicide in the Nov. 25 crash that left 11-year-old Charnia Eccleston dead, The Augusta Chronicle reported.

On Friday, defense attorney Kevin Davis told the judge that Newsome will change her plea to guilty and is fully aware she will be going to prison as a result. But, he said, Newsome is within a week of delivering and hasn’t seen a doctor at the jail for three weeks and the jail has no plan for her delivery.



She only wants to be out of jail to give birth, he said.

Assistant District Attorney Tom Watkins asked Judge James G. Blanchard Jr. not to change his previous ruling in which he denied bond in April.

Watkins said Newsome had methadone in her blood stream and had a blood-alcohol content of .287, over three times the legal limit, at the time of the crash. He said he couldn’t see any way to ensure Newsome wouldn’t drink or use illegal drugs and get back behind the wheel of a car if she is released.

Blanchard, however, sided with the defense.

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