Kenton Ridge teacher pleads guilty to 2016 fatal hit-and-run charges

A Springfield woman pleaded guilty to two charges in Clark County Common Pleas Court on Friday in connection with a fatal hit-and-run.

Kristine Baggs is accused of hitting Lawrence “Larry” Mason, 45, of Medway, with a vehicle and fleeing the scene in September 2016.

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Baggs pleaded guilty to failure to stop after an accident, which is a third-degree felony and carries a penalty of 36 months or a $10K fine.

She also pleaded guilty to the first-degree misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter.

Baggs could have her driver’s license suspended from six months up to one year.

Mason was standing on the side of North Tecumseh Road in early September 2016 when he was allegedly struck and killed by a silver 2015 Dodge Durango, according to an Ohio State Highway Patrol crash report.

Baggs is a family and consumer science teacher at Kenton Ridge High School in Springfield. She was placed on paid administrative suspension after she was charged in November, more than a year after the incident.

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Mason’s family said in a previous interview that they just want justice for their family member.

“It was an accident until you left him there to lay on the side of the road,” said Janet Elam, Mason’s cousin.

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The Ohio State Attorney’s General Office is prosecuting the case. Clark County Prosecutor Andy Wilson said his office is unable to prosecute because of a conflict of interest.

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