Tuesday afternoon, a Wake County woman made her court appearance following the crash of her car on Western Boulevard in Raleigh the night before, which killed all five children inside.
Near Dix Park, three individuals, two of whom were children, were critically injured when a vehicle allegedly jumped the median and slammed into a tree shortly after 9 p.m. on Monday.
The driver, Diamond Cannady, was taken into custody and faces charges of reckless driving, child endangerment due to not fastening their seat belts, speeding, and mistreatment of minors.
Cannady was traveling with her five children—ages 3, 5, 6, 10, and 14—when the accident occurred, according to Wake County prosecutor Ashton Slagle, who testified during a preliminary hearing on Tuesday. The automobile had four kids riding shotgun in the rear.
According to the authorities, the kids weren’t even buckled up when the accident happened.
Warrants state that Cannady’s license was revoked for a prior conviction of driving while drunk, and that she was traveling at 60 mph in a 35 mph zone.
Warrants stated that a 6-year-old passenger in the vehicle experienced head trauma, a lacerated liver, a fractured jaw, and a fractured arm. Warrants state that a 5-year-old child experienced head trauma, including a concussion and a laceration.
According to Slagle, Cannady was facing 90 pending charges, including DUI, DWI, many instances of speeding in a school zone, child abuse, numerous instances of not wearing a seat belt, and 35 or more failures to appear.
During Monday’s court hearing for Cannady, Slagle stated, “She is an extreme safety risk to the public, herself and her kids.”
For Cannady, the court set bond at $100,000. Her continued criminal activity, according to the prosecution, endangers her children, thus they first requested a $1 million bond from the judge.
The accusation was denied by Cannady, who pleaded with the judge to grant her clemency so that she could visit her daughter, who was supposedly having surgery.
“I love my kids [and] I am not a risk,” Cannady said. “I’m a single mom. I need to see my kids and make a decision about my daughter in surgery … I need to see my daughter.”
The judge ordered Cannady to stop communicating with her children.