FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 8, 2019
Contact: Heather F. Williamson
Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office
20 East Market Street
Leesburg, VA 20176-2809
(703) 777-0242
RECKLESS DRIVER SENTENCED FOR FATAL PARKING LOT ACCIDENT
JUDGE IMPOSES TWELVE MONTHS IN JAIL
LEESBURG, Virginia – April 1, 2019. Richard Stephen Rosser, 52, appeared in the Loudoun County Circuit Court for sentencing on one count of reckless driving in a parking lot. The Hon. Judge J. Howe Brown Jr. sentenced Rosser to twelve months in the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center.
On February 9, 2017, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to Dulles Eastern Plaza in Sterling for a report of a traffic fatality. Investigation revealed that Rosser approached a stop bar in the road, appeared to roll through the stop, and then struck and killed Mrs. Selma Elif Turkoglu with his Ford F-350 as she crossed the parking lot in a marked crosswalk. Rosser told law enforcement that he was not able to see Mrs. Turkoglu from his vehicle. Evidence showed that Rosser was not using his phone, had not consumed any alcohol or narcotics, and appeared awake and alert after the accident.
In a sentencing hearing lasting over two hours, Judge Brown heard testimony from numerous witnesses supporting Rosser. In announcing sentence, Judge Brown noted that the defendant was “driving blind” and that he “might as well have had his eyes closed” when he entered the crosswalk. A request by the defendant to be evaluated for the Sheriff’s work force and work release programs was denied.
“While nothing can lessen the pain caused by the loss of Mrs. Turkoglu, who was a wife and mother, I hope that this case serves as a cautionary tale to others who drive in reckless manner thereby putting the rest of us at risk,” said Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Nicole Wittmann.
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