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Kaylie Silby was convicted last week of improper driving in connection with the death of 2-year-old Omarion Rose (pictured) on Jan. 17.
A week after a judge fined a teenager $500 in connection with the death of a Madison Heights toddler, her stepfather has issued a public statement of apology to the boy’s family on her behalf.
The statement — from Chris Murphy of Madison Heights, stepfather to Kaylie Silby — also strongly defends the teen’s actions in the hours following the January fatality.
“I understand that this statement is long overdue,” Murphy wrote, “but up to this point, we have been under the instruction of our attorney and the state police not to give any statements.”
Silby, 19, was found guilty July 1 of improper driving. According to the evidence presented at her trial, she hit 2-year-old Omarion Rose on Seminole Drive on Jan. 14 as she was on her way to pick up her boyfriend that morning.
The boy, Amherst County Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Maddox said in an earlier interview, had wandered away from his parents’ home in a moment of confusion.
The statement apologizes to the Rose family, and to Omarion’s mother in particular.
“No one could ever imagine the pain that they are going through,” it says. “Nothing could ever be done to fill the void… .”
During the hearing, Silby testified she was driving on Seminole Drive, under the speed limit, when her cell phone rang. She said the road ahead was clear when she looked down to find the phone. As she looked down, she felt what she thought was a pothole, she testified.
When she checked her mirrors, she saw nothing and went on.
In the family’s statement, Murphy notes Silby “has done everything she is supposed to do,” and that her family called police that day after seeing a news report about the incident.
“She stepped forward when many people would not have,” Murphy wrote.
The statement also noted that a re-creation of the accident showed that Silby could not have seen the boy in her mirrors, which was confirmed by police testimony at her trial.
In the wake of public outcry over the sentence, Maddox said Thursday that she doesn’t believe Silby set out to hit a child that morning. She also verified that the teen notified police the same day as the incident.
Silby was charged with reckless driving on March 12, after a lengthy investigation that included extensive forensic testing.
For those who wonder why Silby was not charged with a more serious crime than reckless driving, Maddox pointed out that the judge in the case, after hearing three hours of evidence, acquitted Silby of even reckless driving.
“It’s my job as commonwealth’s attorney to look at all the evidence and all the facts and to charge what the law allows,” she said. “A reckless driving (charge) was the highest charge that we could make based on the evidence in the case.
“The judge after listening to a lot of testimony thought it didn’t rise to the level of reckless (driving) and convicted her of improper (driving).
“Charging any greater charge clearly would not have been appropriate.”
Rose’s family could not be reached for comment.
Public apology letter written by Kaylie Silby’s stepfather
I would like to begin by saying that on behalf of not only Kaylie but also the rest of our family, our sincere condolences and prayers go out to the Rose family and Mrs. Hughes in particular. We are sorry for the loss of Omarion. No one could ever imagine the pain that they are going through. Nothing could ever be done to fill the void; we fully understand that and sympathize with the family. I understand that this statement is long overdue, but up to this point, we have been under the instruction of our attorney and the State Police not to give any statements.
With that being said, there have been many people stating that Kaylie is a cold-blooded killer. This could not be further from the truth. No one would knowingly hit a child and just leave him or her to die, no one. The simple fact of the matter is anyone heading down Seminole Drive that morning would have been subject to hitting Omarion. Everyone who drives at one point or another has taken their eyes off the road and many drivers whether they admit it or not have felt a bump in the road and not stopped. Beyond that, the State Police did a re-creation of the accident and confirmed that Kaylie could not have seen Omarion in her mirrors. If you do not see anything after you feel a bump in the road would you stop? Again, most people wouldn’t.
From the time Kaylie thought she might have been the one to hit Omarion she has done everything she is supposed to do. Contrary to what some media outlets have reported, it was not days before she came forward, and she was never on the run, it was the same day, right around lunchtime. We relinquished the vehicle to the State Police at the same time; it was never washed or doctored in any way. She did not move the car at any time once she returned to the house that morning. She stepped forward when many people would not have.
Also, contrary to what some may say, Kaylie is extremely remorseful. She can hardly look at her own infant son without breaking down. She is withdrawn, depressed and very solemn. Trust me — she is sorry this accident ever occurred. This is something that she will have to deal with everyday for the rest of her life.
Let me finish by saying: this is a terrible accident that no one should ever have to endure. Many lives have been ruined by these events. Please don’t judge someone for an accident that anyone of us could have very well been involved in. And again, to the Rose family and Mrs. Hughes, we do apologize for the loss of Omarion.
On behalf of Kaylie and our family, thank you for your time.
— Chris Murphy
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Reader Reactions
poet, learn to read please. I never said you needed my support. I said NO ONE supports you. Not to mention I think you need to brush up on the definition of racism.
on an unrelated note though, thank you. I keep having to waste time in my lunch breaks to respond to your moronic ramblings. Your taking away from the time that I have to eat. Eating less will hopefully lead to losing some weight.
Posted by ( InnocentBystander ) on July 14, 2008 at 3:43 pm
well, poet, the supporters have come out of the woodwork. and, not, surprisingly, they don’t support you.
I invite you to scroll back and show me where I asked support. Just another example of your racism. Guess what I don’t need your support.
Ok Mitchell so in your world there is nothign defined as driving in a safe manner. all the accidents that have happened because of the use of cell phones while driving is ok with you. Tell me wise sage, where do you draw the line? If I run over your kid because of being distracted, will you defend me? We all know the answer to that, so your whole post is just a lie, isn’t it?
Which of the two sounds worse?
#1 The boy, Amherst County Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Maddox said in an earlier interview, had wandered away from his parents’ home in a moment of confusion.
#2During the hearing, Silby testified she was driving on Seminole Drive, under the speed limit, when her cell phone rang. She said the road ahead was clear when she looked down to find the phone. As she looked down, she felt what she thought was a pothole, she testified!
WHAT IN THE HELL WAS THE CONFUSION THAT HE WONDERED OFF,WHY WHY WHY?CAN YOU TELL ME THAT SOMETHING WAS MORE IMPORTANT THEN HIS SAFTY OR CARE!THIS IS WHAT REALLY MAKES ME SO UPSET IN THIS CASE AND IT DOESNT MATTER IF YOU ARE WHITE, BLACK, YELLOW,OR RED, YOU HAVE THE RESPONSABLITY OF A YOUNG CHILD WHO IS DEPENDED ON YOUR THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS!
I heard through the grape vine it was the cousin who was watching Omarion that morning, who fell Asleep,while having him in her care, he gets out the screen door because the main door was left wide open!
I’m not for sure if this is the actual truth but if so then she should be held responsable for neglecting Omarion.
So poet please take your glasses off, quit looking to place blame on Kaylie ,she isn’t in any way the monster you betray her to be!Your racism is worse then anything she did wrong so take a check up from the neck up!
excuse me?!? what does being an innocent bystander have to do with shutting up? innocent bystander simply means not having been involved in an incident, an observer. Sounds like freedom needs to revisit some of his fancy book learnin.
and its too bad the posts arent archived or Id show you where poet has tried to use latin to make herself sound intelligent. All I said was that her posts have made her an unwelcome person and one who is incompetent.
You are correct, God can do anything. But you gotta use common sense and know Him and His word before you ask for something as ridicuous as changing a persons race so they can “learn a lesson.“ I will not be reincarnated when I die. I will not be changed to a race different than the one I am now.
Lets talk about the true history for a second. Where did the slaves come from? Africa. Who sold them into slavery. Their own people. Did white men perpetuate it? Yes. but they didn’t start it. They aren’t the only people to be enslaved either. The Jews have been enslaved (Egypt) and mass murdered (WW2). Do we hear them making the same wild accusations? No. Why? They’ve used those experiences to make themselves better people instead of playing the “victim” or “you owe me XYZ because of how my ancestors were treated” card.
Again AGAIN it is not about black or white. Just because you are black, you TRY to see it in a different way. Not all black people think the same way you do. You should be more like TD Jakes than Al Sharpton. Read his works and get enlightened. I don’t choose to see it in any light. I was raised not to care about skin color. You were obviously raised different than me. Kaylie’s family is trying to do the right thing. You should do the same and let it go. By the way, I am not your honey.
Poet, you CANNOT say white’s do not get racist comments! What do YOU think you are doing with these stupid, incompetent accusations here??? I never said that being on a cell phone and driving is right, but I bet you do the exact same thing! You canot criticize someone for something you are also guilty of! People who talk on the cell phone while driving do raise the risk of danger while driving; why do you think there are so many car accidents? You really should look at what you are saying before putting your foot in your mouth. Car accidents that occur due to an individual being on a cell phone is NOT because they are racist! Society has said that they think it is fine for people to drive while on the cell phone, while I do not agree with it, that was the reason the accident happened and not because she decided to take a drive to look for an adorable black child who is playing the road to kill just because she is racist! How absurd is that?! You think they should sue?? It is because of people like you that everyone goes sue happy when there is no need to! Just because a person wants to buy a hot cup of coffee and spills it on themselves, there is not a need to sue when DUH the coffee is GOING TO BE HOT…there should not need to be warnings, but because of sue happy people like you who do pathetic things just to get money…society has to be so scared. Teachers are scared about how to teach and what to teach just because of parents who want specific things to be taught or not taught! This case was just an accident and she was remorseful! GIVE IT UP! IT IS NOT ABOUT RACISM!!!!!!!!!
well, poet, the supporters have come out of the woodwork. and, not, surprisingly, they don’t support you.
you can claim to have answered all the questions and responded to all the statements but you infact have refused to do so and have run away with your tail between your legs from the hard questions.
You can throw out all your fancy latin phrases tryin to diagnose the situation or those with opinions other than yours, but based on your rantings and ravings, I have no choice to label you with 2 of my own. Persona nongrata and noncompis mentis.
My dearest Article here is what I responed to in your post:
It’s sad to see people like barb13905 are trying to put a racial spin on the accident.
I suppose that was not your words? Frame it anyway you want. In Amhesrt county it
is about race. You can afford not to look throguh the eyes of the black community, I don’t expect you to, but I do. Sorry honey, but your reality just isn’t mine.
Ok Mitchell so in your world there is nothign defined as driving in a safe manner. all the accidents that have happened because of the use of cell phones while driving is ok with you. Tell me wise sage, where do you draw the line? If I run over your kid because of being distracted, will you defend me? We all know the answer to that, so your whole post is just a lie, isn’t it?
Astar for the most part I agree with you. You may not have been in the other thread so you may have missed why I’m so incensed. I know no one goes out to have an accident. I also know that when it happens to any one of us we have to take responsibility for it. This just hasn’t happened and I don’t care who you are, that’s just wrong.
But what really got me started in this whole thing were the comments that the Rose family somehow owes an aplology. There was even one comment that said the Rose family should aplolgise to this girl for killing their child, or not sue. Now that’s just crazy or down right racist. I’m a news junkie. I’ve never ever seen where it was demanded of a white vitim to apologise for being a victim. Why is the standard different for black people. When that black man was killed in Amherst county, there was a poster that made to comment that his family needs to apologise to the sheriffs dept and thank them for doing thier duty. Ever heard of such outrageous demands hurled at white victims?
Now tell me why I’m the one that’s hating and not those that make such hatefull statements?
Now any of you can say whatever you want about me. I won’t be silenced and just because these racist things don’t happen to you, doesn’t mean they don’t happen. I’ve been there, seen that and survived it all. We were told to keep silent then too.
So Article dearest, I guess that truth hurts.
Hello…I was just reading through all of your posts and have become greatly disturbed. I have family that lives on Seminole Drive and I went down that same road not long after the accident. It was so tragic. I have small children and it really hit home for me. I think that many factors contributed to the little ones death that day. Seminole Drive is infamous for drivers that FLY down that road. I mean it is really bad! I am not saying she was going too fast because she couldn’t have been going but so fast, because where he was hit was not too far down the road, she would not have been able to pick up a great amount of speed by that time. I’m just saying, that the road needs to be monitored more closely, it is another accident waiting to happen. She however, should not have been fiddling with the phone. That is a huge problem with drivers today!!! I do not think the child was being watched properly and I think most people would agree. I just can’t imagine not making sure where my child was??? All of these things contributed to his tragic death.
I honestly, don’t think however that this is a race issue. It was JUST AN ACCIDENT. Does anyone honestly believe she wanted to hit him??? Who would do that, especially a fellow mother as she is. Also, she is so young, I can understand why an older adult made the statement. She probably is having a really hard time. I probably wouldn’t have been able to speak publicly either.
I think that everyone that has posted with such rude comments, needs to take a step back and realize that sometimes accidents happen. There is no need for such hatred.
Some people do not see that we are in a new millennium and that MOST people do not judge people based on color. It is only those that do wish for there to be a constant fight that brings up racism as a way to protect themselves when they think they are better, when they really are not, and think they reserve the right to put up fights. People do not go out searching to hit innocent children playing in the road. The road is a place where drivers are supposed to be and not 2 year olds whose parents are neglecting them!I totally agree with ZIGMITCHELL in the fact that the caretaker of the toddler should be found at faught for their stupidity in not paying attention to the child! I know that I NEVER take my eye off of my child and would never allow my child to play in the road where drivers are bound to hit him/her no matter if they are white or black! What does a racist say to a mother who is unable to physically have children and therefore adopt a child who is not the same race?! I love my child no matter if they are black or white or hispanic! We are all equal and that is what God has declared!
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