Woman accused of hitting man, leaving him to die on windshield
Posted on 03/08/2002 1:38:23 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Woman accused of hitting man, leaving him to die on windshield
Police say he begged for help in garage; attorney says driver 'panicked'
03/08/2002
FORT WORTH - Chante Mallard seemed like a kind person caring about neighbors' safety and working as an aide at a nursing home.
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Ms. Mallard was charged with murder this week in the slaying of Gregory Glenn Biggs, 37, a former Fort Worth school bus driver whose body was found dumped last October at Cobb Park on Fort Worth's south side. She was released Wednesday after posting $10,000 bond.
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"It truly is one of the most bizarre things I have ever seen," said Fort Worth police Lt. David Burgess, a supervisor in the traffic division. "I don't think there is really any other way to describe this."
But Ms. Mallard's attorney said that many details of the case have been overblown and that his client is devastated by the accident and seeking counseling.
"She is not the cold, harsh, inhumane person they would have you think," defense attorney Mike Heiskell said. "This girl is not a monster."
In late October, Ms. Mallard had been to a club where she had a couple of drinks, police said. She told police she was on her way home about 3 a.m. when she hit a man who was walking along U.S. Highway 287 near the Loop 820 split.
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"He was alive for some period of time, about two to three days," said Sgt. Jon Fahrenthold, head of the accident investigation unit. "Apparently there was some conversation between them. She kept saying she was sorry, and he kept begging for help."
Police said that after Mr. Biggs died, Ms. Mallard and at least one friend then took the body to Cobb Park, a few blocks from her home, and dumped it. The body was found Oct. 27 near the edge of a parking lot.
In an affidavit, Maranda Daniel told police that she had been out with Ms. Mallard and several other women in mid-February when Ms. Mallard "giggled" as she explained how she had hit a man with her car.
Ms. Daniel also told police that Ms. Mallard "was messed up" on the drug "ecstasy" when she hit the man. The affidavit also quoted Ms. Daniel as saying Ms. Mallard told her that after she parked her car in her garage, she went inside her house and had sex with a boyfriend, leaving the injured man entangled in her windshield.
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Mr. Heiskell said that Ms. Daniel's claims were embellishments.
"This was not a friend of Chante's. In fact, they were enemies," he said. "She wanted to shed Chante in the worse light possible."
Mr. Heiskell also said Ms. Mallard did not talk to Mr. Biggs while he was in her garage and that the body was there for less than 24 hours not the three days contended by police.
"She panicked and made a bad decision, and her friend led her further down a bad road by telling her not to do anything, but it has been blown out of proportion," he said.
In the arrest affidavit, Ms. Mallard told police that after she returned home, she "sat there and cried and kept telling the white male that was sticking though her windshield that she was sorry."
Ms. Mallard also told police that "she does not know how long it took the man to die, [because] she quit going out into the garage," the affidavit states.
Medical experts said if long-bone injuries, such as a broken leg, are left untreated, they can lead a person to bleed to death within minutes or several hours as shock sets in.
"We talk about the golden hour, the middle period after an accident happens, and oftentimes even severe cases can be treated in that time and have a positive outcome," said Dr. David Mendelson, an emergency room physician at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth. "It seems in this case, the person never got the definitive help during that time."
Ms. Mallard was charged on Feb. 26 with felony failure to stop and render aid.
This week, the Tarrant County medical examiner's office ruled that Mr. Biggs did not die of internal injuries from being hit by the car, but from massive blood loss and a state of shock.
Police obtained a search warrant for Ms. Mallard's two bedroom, one-car garage home and found blood, hair and human tissue in her damaged automobile.
"It was very obvious what had happened even though she was trying to disguise the damage," Sgt. Fahrenthold said. "She had planned to take the car out and torch it and claim insurance to get a new car. She had already burned one of the seats."
Police are searching for the other people who Ms. Mallard said helped her dump Mr. Biggs' body.
"There have been some very traumatic things that have happened in this country, and people have really come together to help each other out," said Richard Alpert, a Tarrant County assistant district attorney. "This is so the opposite of all that."
Mr. Alpert said although it is early in the process, he expects that the case will go before a jury.
"This is beyond the pale," he said. "It's hard to come up with a word to describe it. It's hard think that someone could have that level of indifference."
Mr. Biggs had worked for the Fort Worth school district from November 2000 to April 2001. He had also done sporadic construction work but was staying at a Fort Worth homeless shelter at the time of his death.
Mr. Biggs' mother, Meredith Biggs, said she was outraged to learn how her son died.
"Her lawyer is saying that it was just a hit-and-run or something. She had him in her garage stuck in that windshield for three days dying, and she wouldn't help him," she said. "He was begging for help. She would just come and see if he was dead yet. That's not hit and run."
Mr. Biggs had one son from a previous marriage, 19-year-old Brandon Glenn Biggs. Meredith Biggs said she wants people to remember Gregory as a loving, caring Christian.
"He was alive as anybody, and he was a worthwhile human being," she said.
VaDonna Spruill, a co-worker and a former roommate of Ms. Mallard, said she had seen her friend several times since the collision.
"When I asked her what happened to her car, she said, 'I don't want to talk about it,' " Ms. Spruill said. "She later told me she had a wreck and it was at home in her garage. To me it didn't seem like there was anything wrong, other than she might have been a little shaken up."
Ms. Mallard attended Morningside Middle School and O.D. Wyatt High School, growing up on the southeast side of Fort Worth. She made good grades, was a popular student leader and played on the school's volleyball team.
She had a strong family bond, friends said. Her parents helped her buy her house in 1995, friends said, and could be seen helping her with yardwork.
Relatives could not be reached Thursday for comment.
Neighbors said that Ms. Mallard's home was quiet and that the friendly woman always had a smile and would be happy to check on neighbors' houses while they were away.
"She was a nice neighbor," said Cherie Orr, who lives across the street. "It really broke my heart to hear about it. You just don't expect your neighbors to do something like this."
Narkeshia Holloway, another friend, said while she is supportive of her friend, Ms. Mallard's admitted actions baffled her.
"If there was the drugs and the alcohol, then I'm sure she was scared that something would have happened to her, but she still should have gotten in contact with someone," Ms. Holloway said.
Other neighbors were less forgiving.
"She still had to come to her senses eventually," said Norma Taylor. "I would have called someone. I wouldn't have been thinking about my trouble. But I've got a conscience."
WFAA-TV contributed to this report.
Yep! It's going the right direction now. See link on post #40. . .
Figures...how'd ya like to be an old person being cared for by such as this? Can't help but wonder how many other deaths she has caused and which nursing home she worked at.
The story progresses. They've upped the bail and thrown her in the pokey again. And she's been fired from her job, etc. . .
See link on post #40 for the latest.
Many like her working in nursing homes. Very sad.
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