Community voices concern, confusion in sentencing of woman in DUI crash with bike taxi

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Several people in the Charleston community are frustrated that a woman who was charged with DUI after hitting a bike taxi driver was sentenced to 24 hours of community service on Thursday.

Video from a dash camera shows Kacey Jay, 24, hitting a bike taxi in her SUV and driving off.

Late in the video, a white truck blocks Jay's SUV and takes away her keys.

“When she hit the pedicab and I saw her take off, I really didn’t want her to get away," Gus Molony, who was driving that white truck, said. “She just ran into the back of a pedicab. She could have injured or killed the guy and then she just took off to get away.”

A breathalyzer test showed Jay had a 0.24 percent blood alcohol content level, according to an incident report from the Charleston Police Department.

Molony said because of the severity of what he saw at the scene, he was shocked that Jay’s punishment was only 24 hours of community service.

“Well I’m confused because I’m wondering what kind of message this sends to our community, our police officers," Molony said. "I’m wondering what kind of message this sends to those who have actually lost loved ones because of drunk driving.”

Prosecuting attorney Gregory Voigt said the final sentencing was consistent with what decisions the judge had been making for other DUI cases the same week.

Voigt also said he did not let Jay off easy because she pleaded guilty to exactly what Charleston Police Department charged her with.

“Well, either we’re going to take drunk driving seriously or we’re not going to take drunk driving seriously," Molony said. "This case demonstrates how you can take a really bad case of driving under the influence and turn it into something insignificant.”

Neither Jay’s attorney, Joseph Schmutz, nor the judge on this case responded to a request for comment about the sentencing.

Copyright 2019 WCSC. All rights reserved.