The case against an alleged hit-and-run driver accused of putting a man in a coma made her first court appearance Tuesday. The case is moving forward, but the victim’s family left feeling frustrated and called the charges “a slap on the wrist.”
The crash, between an SUV and a motorcycle, happened in late May. It happened on busy Steubenville Pike in the middle of the afternoon.
Robinson Township Police investigated and concluded Patricia Opferman, 78, failed to yield the right-of-way, hitting Rasheem Farmer, 31, who was on a motorcycle. He was thrown from the bike and left laying motionless and bleeding from his head.
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Farmer was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. He was in a coma for 35 days and suffered brain bleeds and broken bones. He is still relearning how to walk five months after the crash and has not been able to return to work.
Police said Opferman left the scene of the crash and called 911 the following day, reporting numbness in her hands. When medics and police responded, investigators said Opferman told them she had been involved in the crash with the motorcyclist the previous day.
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The most serious charge Opferman is facing is accidents involving death or personal injury, a level one misdemeanor.
Tuesday, she waived her preliminary hearing, with prosecutors agreeing to drop one of the citations she was charged with, reckless driving. She is still facing three other traffic-related citations, including failing to stop and render aid.
Opferman walked out of court Tuesday, while Farmer was pushed out in a wheelchair.
11 Investigates’ Jatara McGee asked Opferman why she left the scene of the crash.
She did not respond.
McGee asked, “Is there anything that you would want to say to the victim’s family?”
Opferman responded, “Could you leave us alone?”
Farmer is struggling not only physically but emotionally as well. The car mechanic and semi-professional football player is struggling with his loss of independence.
“I can’t do anything. I can’t get up and walk nowhere. I can’t go to work. I can’t play football anymore,” Farmer said. “She completely ruined my life. I can’t be me anymore because of her carelessness.”
Legal experts told Channel 11 prosecutors could have charged a felony in this case since the driver left the scene of the crash.
Police and the district attorney told Farmer’s family Tuesday their hands were tied and “we agree it should be a felony, but it’s not.”
Robinson Township police and the district attorney’s office had ignored all questions and requests for comment sent by Channel 11 over several weeks.
Farmer’s girlfriend Jada Snell appeared teary-eyed while hearing from the lead police officer on the case, who informed the family the reckless driving charge was being dropped and there would be no testimony heard today.
“I know how emotional he’s been. I know how this has changed his whole life, our lives. I can tell it just crushed him,” Snell said. “I’m hopeful, but at the same time, I’m losing hope.”
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