The man who bailed out 75-year-old hit-and-run suspect Suzanne Lammers blamed the 13-year-old who was seriously injured in the accident.
The Villanova woman turned herself into police Thursday, after being accused of hitting a boy on a bicycle with her car and leaving him hurt in the street.
Lammer's friend, Clarence Diffenderffer, spoke out on her behalf Thursday, blaming the injured child for the accident.
“The young man hit her. He hit her in the side of the car with his bike,” said Clarence Diffenderffer. “She had no sense that she had hit a child.”
Lammers told police that she thought she hit a deer. Lammers fled the accident and kept her Volvo with a giant hole in the windshield covered by a blanket in her garage.
The accident happened on Old Gulph Road in Bryn Mawr on July 15. The boy, Andrew Mallee of Bryn Mawr, was on his bike and suffered severe head injuries. After being in critical condition in a local hospital, he is now recovering at home.
“He wouldn’t have been hurt badly if he had been wearing a helmet,” said Diffenderffer.
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According to court papers, Lammers told police she hit a deer last Friday, while the hit-and-run happened on a Wednesday. She also told police that she was going to turn around and go back, but decided to go home when she heard police sirens.
“When she heard the police horns, she made the worst decision in her life,” said Diffenderffer.
Lammers turned herself into police Thursday. Police charged her with causing an accident involving personal injury, a felony, and failure to stop and render assistance. The felony charge has a minimum sentence of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
“She’s the most wonderful person I’ve ever known,” said Diffenderffer.
