West Virginia officer will not face charges for striking, killing 13-year-old with cruiser off-duty

CHARLESTON W.Va. (AP) — An off-duty deputy sheriff in West Virginia who struck and killed a 13-year-old girl with his police cruiser last year will not face criminal charges in her death, according to the county prosecutor investigating the case.

Putnam County Prosecutor Mark Sorsaia determined the “tragic loss” of 13-year-old Jacqueline “Laney” Hudson in December 2022 was a “direct result” of her own erratic behavior while under the influence of alcohol and drugs, according to a Thursday letter clearing former Cabell County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeffrey Racer of negligence in her death.

That “severely affected her judgement and ability to make rational decisions, and subsequently led to her running in front of the car," he wrote.

But the family's lawyer Tyler Haslam said they still have questions that need answering, particularly how fast Racer was driving off-duty in a marked police car when Hudson died.

A state police accident reconstruction expert could not precisely determine how fast the cruiser was moving when it struck Hudson because its “black box” — which usually records that information — did not activate, according to Sorsaia.

In a statement released through Haslam, the 13-year-old’s loved ones said the were not surprised by the prosecutor's decision.

“Racer’s actions precipitated the vehicular death of a juvenile pedestrian and left a family heartbroken,” they said. “Despite our disappointment about the special prosecutor’s decision, we remain steadfast in our pursuit of justice.”

The family said they “look forward to reviewing the State’s full investigation once it is released in order to compare it to our own.”

Hudson was killed on December 30, 2022 just after 10:30 p.m. in the state’s second largest city of...