PITTSBURGH (AP) — A prosecutor is appealing a judge’s decision to reverse the involuntary manslaughter conviction of a woman because a faulty General Motors ignition switch.
The Allegheny County district attorney’s office said in Superior Court appeal notice last Thursday that Lakisha Ward-Green could have refused to plead guilty because the air bag failed to deploy, but chose not to.
The 25-year-old Penn Hills woman pleaded guilty to manslaughter and reckless driving in 2012 and served three months in jail before her attorney appealed citing the GM defect.
Police determined Ward-Green was driving 75 mph in a 35 mph zone before she crashed, killing 16-year-old Robert Chambers IV.
A judge reversed her conviction last Wednesday citing a GM recall for ignition switches that unexpectedly turn off, causing the cars to stall and disabling steering, brakes and air bags.
- Posted August 31, 2015
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Prosecutor appeals reversal in ignition-related fatality
headlines Oakland County
- In the spotlight
- Local law students win national moot court competition
- Dept. issues Grant Funding Opportunity for victim advocacy and response services
- Nessel warns of fraudulent Facebook event pages targeting vendors
- Whitmer signs bipartisan bills protecting access to health care, boosting local development
headlines National
- Techshow attendees dig deeper into AI uses and capabilities
- ACLU and BigLaw firm use ‘Orange is the New Black’ in hashtag effort to promote NY jail reform
- Where can 1Ls get five-figure signing bonuses?
- Law firms see more cyberattacks, ransomware threats, new report says
- BigLaw’s share of litigation funding dropped in 2025
- Woman faces murder charge after allegedly taking abortion medication
