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Lexington Driver of Truck Sentenced in Hit-Run Driver

Shannon Houser, a 37-year-old Lexington man, was given the maximum sentence for charges relating to a traffic accident that killed a University of Kentucky student last spring.
Houser was issued a five year jail sentence for tampering with evidence and leaving the scene of an accident.  Prosecutors argued Houser hit 18-year-old Connie Blount with his truck early on April 13th as she attempted to cross Broadway.  Investigators have said that Blount crossed Broadway against the light, had knelt down in the street, according to testimony.
According to police, Houser removed the grill and bumper of his truck, but his defense lawyers argued he didn’t try to alter, hide or destroy it.  Blount’s father, Jack, informed the Lexington Herald-Leader that he is angry that Houser will be eligible for parole after serving a year.  He was also upset that Houser was not prosecuted for murder.  “Our legal system is a mess,” said Jack Blount.
Houser said that he had not realized that he had struck Blount, who was a freshman studying equestrian science at University of Kentucky.
Circuit Judge James Ishmael, who imposed Houser’s sentence, told Houser that his explanation defies common sense. 
Jack Blount plans to appear before the parole board when Houser is eligible.  “To me, he appears to have accepted no responsibility for what he did,” said Jack Blount.  “He just shows no remorse.  It is just shocking.”

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