Wyandotte County District Attorney Jerome Gorman today charged Tamika Pledger, 38, a candidate for Unified Government Commission, with four counts of reckless aggravated battery.
The charges stem from a Jan. 30 incident in the 1300 block of Troup in Kansas City, Kan., where four teens were struck by a vehicle allegedly driven by Pledger.
Pledger currently is in the Wyandotte County Jail. Bond was set at $50,000.
Pledger currently is running for the UG Commission, 1st District at-large, and has been outspoken in her opposition to violence, especially to drive-by shootings in the community.
Several news sources, including one at KMBC-TV, reported on Saturday that Pledger was in jail following the accident. The Wyandotte County Jail log on Saturday showed Pledger’s picture and information as having been booked. Some of the injuries to the four teens were critical.
There was a large outpouring of support for Pledger on her Facebook page over the weekend.
Pledger has served as the president of the Wyandotte High School PTSA for four years. She is the co-founder of Save Our Community From Crime. She also is the owner of a child care center.
The UG 1st District at-large seat has been vacant for two years, and there are seven candidates running for it this spring.
The reckless aggravated battery charges are level five person felonies, according to the district attorney’s office. They carry sentences of 31 to 136 months in prison.
An investigation is being conducted by the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department.