Teen Gets 60 Months
Jail Time for Fatal Crash

In what the state's attorney called "a tragedy for everyone," Sammy Jo Wood, 18, of Granville was sentenced to 11-12 months in prison, all suspended but 60 days, for negligent operation in an accident that killed her friend, Shawna Linn Brown, 13, of Barre.

The accident occurred July 30 on Route 100 in Hancock.

Wood was incarcerated at Windsor correctional facility after being sentenced on Monday.

Addison Co. State's Atty. John T. Quinn said the state had requested six months to be served in prison.

Several conditions were attached to the 60-day jail term. Wood must complete 500 hours of community service, complete a Red Cross CPR course, write a letter of apology to the family, and spend two years on probation.

At the time of the accident, Wood was babysitting both Shawna Brown and a four-year old girl, and she took them for a ride on Route 100, without permission. Wood, with only a learner's permit, could not legally drive with passengers in the car.

The fatal accident, in fact, occurred because of the distraction of passengers, according to Wood's staement to police. She said she was holding a car lighter in her hand when her companion gave her a piece of paper, which knocked the lighter out of her hand and into her lap. This distraction made her lose control, she said.

The result was a head-on collision with another car, whose occupants were uninjured. Brown was thrown from the car and pronounced dead at the scene.

The victim's parents, Anthony Brown of Hancock and Rebekka Ward of Barre told The Herald recently that they were upset that Wood had been charged only with a misdemeanor, not a felony. Ward was in court Monday to make the same argument.

State's Atty. Quinn explained that it was his decision not to charge Wood with felony criminal negligence. That charge, he said, carries a definition that he didn't think he could prove in court.

Though living in Barre since 2003, Brown had grown up in Hancock.