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A Mecklenburg judge on Thursday set a $900,000 bond for Carlene Atkinson, a 44-year-old S.C. woman charged with three counts of murder in connection with last month's fatal wreck on N.C. 49.
Superior Court Judge Bob Bell set the unusually high bond after a prosecutor described the April 4 wreck that killed a mother, her baby and a teenager in a street race that might have hit speeds of 100 mph. The prosecutor also told the judge that Atkinson had been convicted 15 times of speeding.
“I'm not concerned about her running,” the judge told the packed courtroom. “My concern is protection of the community. There's no way to guarantee she won't get back in a car again.”
Atkinson wept, burying her face in her hands, and rocked back and forth throughout the bond hearing. When the judge announced the hefty bond, she bent over, put her forehead on the table, and sobbed.
Atkinson's lawyers, George Miller and John Cacheris, said it's doubtful she'll be able to make bond and get out of jail.
Typically, defendants must pay a bail bondsman 10-15 percent of the bond set by the court to get out of jail in exchange for a guarantee the bondsman will pay the court the full bond if the defendant fails to show up for trial.
Atkinson would likely have to come up with more than $90,000, or she could face a year or more in jail awaiting trial.
“It's a monster bond,” Miller said. “She may have to stay in the jail while this case is pending. That could be a very long time.”
Atkinson has been locked up since her arrest last month when a judge set her initial bond at $3 million – $1million for each count of second-degree murder.
Atkinson's husband, along with more than 20 family members and friends, attended the hearing. They left the courthouse upset, consoling and hugging one another. Some had tears in their eyes.
Miller told reporters he had hoped for a lower bond. “She's a mother. She's a wife … a daughter,” he said. “She's just like you and me. She feels horrible about the three people who died. It's a horrible tragedy.”
Atkinson is accused of racing with 20-year-old Tyler Stasko on N.C. 49 near the S.C. line. She didn't hit another car but faces the same murder charges as Stasko, whose Mitsubishi Eclipse collided with a Mercedes as it turned onto the highway from the RiverPointe subdivision.
Killed in the Mercedes was Cynthia Furr, 45, a Winthrop University assistant professor and church choir director. Her 2-year-old daughter, McAllister, was airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Hunter Holt, a 13-year-old passenger in Stasko's car, died a day after the wreck.
Stasko, whose only conviction has been for driving without a license in North Carolina, was released from jail last month on $45,000 bond.
But noting Atkinson's driving history, Mecklenburg Assistant District Attorney Marsha Goodenow pushed for a $1million bond for Atkinson.
Goodenow said witnesses estimated the speeds of Atkinson's and Stasko's cars at between 70 mph and 100 mph.
A passenger in Stasko's car said the Eclipse was traveling 100 mph at one point, she said. When it struck the Mercedes, Goodenow said, the car was going 83 mph.
Inside Atkinson's Camaro during the race, Goodenow said, were two teenagers – her 13-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old friend.
After the crash, Atkinson stopped, got out of her car, and went to the crash scene, Goode now said.
She then declared: “Come on, let's go,” according to the prosecutor.
Atkinson never called for help, she said. Authorities found her at home hours later and confiscated her black Camaro.
Her lawyers urged the judge to set a reasonable bond.
Cacheris noted that Atkinson had admitted driving the Camaro, allowed authorities to seize the vehicle and had turned herself in. He also pointed out that Stasko's bond was $45,000.
Attorney Miller told the judge Atkinson has lived in York County, S.C., for 26 years and has a 13-year-old daughter and a 20-year-old son.
“This lady is not a flight risk,” Miller argued. “She's not going anywhere. … She'd like to be able to go home to her family.
“This is a horrible, horrible accident. And everybody feels terrible. There's nothing anybody can do or say to relieve the pain of the victims' families.”
But Goodenow challenged the defense lawyers. She told the judge that Stasko's bond was “grossly under what it should be” and said she would be seeking to have it increased.
She also told the judge that Atkinson is facing up to 50 years in prison, and suggested she might flee.
Goodenow said, “She's already fled where there were three people at the scene who died.”
