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Carlene Atkinson is out of jail – but she's not allowed to drive.
The Lake Wylie, S.C., woman is facing trial on three counts of murder in connection with a fatal wreck on N.C. 49 and had been jailed on $900,000 bond. Her lawyers had called it doubtful that she'd be able to make that bond.
But Atkinson, who has 15 speeding convictions, was released from Mecklenburg's jail Wednesday night.
In setting her bond last week, Mecklenburg Superior Court Judge Bob Bell expressed concern for the community. He placed Atkinson under house arrest if she got out of jail and ordered the 44-year-old mother of two not to drive. She can come to Charlotte to meet with her lawyers but she must be driven.
Atkinson left jail in time to attend her 13-year-old daughter's graduation today from middle school. The judge had given her permission to leave her home for the graduation if she made bond.
George Miller, one of Atkinson's lawyers, said Thursday he doesn't know how much money she had to pay.
“It had to be a chunk of money though,” he said.
Her family and friends raised the bond money: “They dug into their savings and retirement accounts and pooled together the money,” her lawyer Gary Murphy said.
Typically, defendants must pay a bail bondsman 10 to 15 percent of the bond to get out of jail. In exchange, the bondsman guarantees to pay the court the full bond if the defendant fails to show up for trial. Ten percent of Atkinson's bond would be $90,000.
Atkinson has worked as a restaurant manager for years but lost her most recent job at a pizza restaurant after being jailed in April.
She is accused of racing with 20-year-old Tyler Stasko on N.C. 49 near the S.C. line on April 4. She didn't hit another car but faces the same murder charges as Stasko, whose Mitsubishi Eclipse collided with a Mercedes entering the highway.
Killed in the Mercedes was Cynthia Furr, a 45-year-old Winthrop University 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.
Witnesses estimated the cars were going at between 70 mph and 100 mph, authorities said. The Mitsubishi was traveling at 83 mph when it struck the Mercedes.
During last week's hearing, Assistant District Attorney Marsha Goodenow suggested that Atkinson could be a flight risk because she had fled the scene of the fatal wreck. The prosecutor said Atkinson got out of her Chevrolet Camaro after the crash and went to the wrecked cars.
Atkinson then left, the prosecutor said, and didn't call for help.
Atkinson's lawyers argued that she is not a flight risk, has lived in York County, S.C., for 26 years, and is raising a teenage daughter and a 20-year-old son.
Both Stasko and Atkinson have been charged with three counts of second-degree murder. Stasko, whose only conviction in North Carolina has been for driving without a license, is free on $45,000 bond.
