11 Dec 14
Duane Washington Rumors
Former New Jersey Nets and Los Angeles Clippers player Duane Washington has been sentenced to 60 days in jail for hitting a pedestrian and then leaving the scene in western Michigan. MLive.com reported Monday that an Ottawa County judge also placed the 48-year-old Washington on 18 months’ probation and ordered him to perform 100 hours of community service. Authorities say the ex-NBA player hit 71-year-old Estella Vitins on Sept. 18 as she walked along Interstate 96 in Crockery Township after running out of gas. Vitins survived the accident, though she suffered a broken leg and other injuries.
A former NBA player who hit and seriously injured a 70-year-old pedestrian on I-96, then left the scene of the 2 a.m. accident, has been sentenced to 60 days in jail. Duane Eddy Washington, 48, of the Caledonia area, also was placed on 18 months of probation and ordered to complete 100 hours of community service for the Sept. 18 crash that injured Estella Vitins, 71, as she walked along the road.
A former NBA player who left the scene after hitting a woman with his Jaguar has entered into a plea deal. Duane Washington pleaded no contest Monday in Ottawa County Circuit Court to failure to stop at the scene of a personal injury accident, a five-year felony. Estella Vitins was struck as she walked west in the eastbound lane of I-96 in Crockery Township around 2 a.m on Sept. 18, 2012. The driver of a gray Jaguar stopped, then fled the scene. The 70-year-old woman, who suffers from dementia, was hospitalized and later released.
Washington, 47, was arrested later that day. According to court documents, Washington said he was traveling at about 70 mph when he saw a woman in his headlights. He said he attempted to swerve, but claims he didn’t know he hit Vitins at first. Washington told an Ottawa County Sheriff’s detective he panicked and left the scene. Sentencing is set for June 17.
It’s on to Ottawa County Circuit Court for Duane Washington, a former NBA player charged in a September hit-and-run crash along I-96 in Crockery Township. Washington, 44, waived a preliminary examination set for Tuesday, Nov. 6, in Grand Haven District Court and was ordered to stand trial. He is charged with failing to stop at the scene of a serious injury accident, a five-year felony.
