Accused drunk driver left 5-year-old pinned after crash, feds say. She’s prison-bound

A woman is going to prison after she pleaded guilty to a District of Columbia crash that left a 5-year-old girl with life-threatening injuries, federal officials said.

In July 2023, Thaniyyah Veney, 33, of Washington, D.C., was driving when she hit the little girl who was sitting at a bus stop with her dad, according to an April 5 news release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

After hitting the child and man, Veney kept driving until she “struck the front steps of a home,” federal officials said.

When the car came to a stop, Veney got out and walked to an alley, officials said.

The child was pinned under the car, officials said.

When firefighters arrived, they used a ladder “as a lever” to help lift the car and get the girl out, federal officials said.

She was airlifted to a hospital for her injuries, officials said.

The child suffered a broken hip, broken shoulder and fractured skull, Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White said on Instagram in 2023.

Officials didn’t specify the extent of her father’s injuries.

Veney was breathalyzed and officers determined she was intoxicated, federal officials said.

Veney’s lawyer’s information was not readily available on April 8.

She was sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of aggravated assault while armed with a deadly weapon, officials said.

This story was originally published April 8, 2024 at 12:57 PM with the headline "Accused drunk driver left 5-year-old pinned after crash, feds say. She’s prison-bound."