A man from Williamsburg pleaded guilty to charges stemming from an incident that took place on Christmas Eve in which he struck a 71-year-old woman while his car while driving under the influence.
On December 24, Chadd’s Ford, Pennsylvania resident Irene Carson was attempting to cross Francis Street in downtown Williamsburg when she was struck by a vehicle driven by 39-year-old Mark Francis Schneider.
Schneider was later arrested on charges of DUI and reckless driving. His blood-alcohol content was discovered to have been between 0.15 percent and 0.20 percent, well above Virginia’s legal limit of 0.08 percent, according to court records.
A separate charge of assault and maiming while driving under the influence of alcohol was handed down by a grand jury in July.
When Schneider appeared in Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court on October 1, the charge of reckless driving was dropped by the prosecution. He pleaded guilty to the charges of felony assault and misdemeanor DUI. Court records say that the DUI was a misdemeanor because it was his first offense.
Carson, who was visiting Virginia for the holiday at the time of the accident, received helicopter transport to the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond with injuries that were considered to be life-threatening, according to Williamsburg Police Maj. Susan G. Geary. She was later transferred to a hospital in Pennsylvania.
Schneider’s sentencing is scheduled for November 24.
