A Killington woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges she tried to run over a romantic rival with her car in Proctor last year.
Carson Neil, 24, entered guilty pleas to aggravated assault with a weapon, reckless or gross negligence of a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of an accident in the Jan. 15, 2016, incident in Proctor.
Judge Cortland Corsones ordered a presentence investigation and set sentencing for November.
“Your car was used as a deadly weapon,” the judge told a subdued Neil in Rutland criminal court.
Neil was charged with hitting Tiffanie Felix of Proctor twice with her car outside 6B Green Square in Proctor as Felix was walking around the corner of the apartment building.
Felix was not seriously hurt in the incident and initially refused medical treatment, police said, but reported pain in her knee and hip after being struck twice by Neil’s car.
Felix told police that after she was hit she went to a neighbor who had a video surveillance camera and got a copy of the video which showed Neil driving her car into Felix, even driving up on the lawn to strike Felix, according to court records.
Felix told investigators there was bad blood between her and Neil because Neil was a “fling” of her son’s father, who lives in the same apartment building as Felix but in a separate apartment.
During the court hearing, Neil answered quest ions from Corsones quietly and often with a simple “yes” or “no.” Her lawyer said she wanted to take responsibility for her actions.
Neil told police after the incident that she had struck Felix, but that Felix made no attempt to get out of the way. Neil told police that her car had been repeatedly vandalized in the past year, and that she suspected Felix.
Felix, in turn, blamed Neil for slashed tires and a damaged side mirror on her car.
Felix, who was in the courtroom Tuesday, told police in 2016 she felt Neil intended to hurt her physically, according to records.
“Something needs to be done,” she told police.
State’s Attorney Rose Kennedy said after the plea change hearing she would talk with Felix before deciding what to seek for Neil at the sentencing hearing.
Neil’s attorney, Matthew Branchaud, asked Corsones to also order a report to determine whether home confinement would be appropriate.
susan.smallheer @rutlandherald.com
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