By C1 Staff
COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A woman who ran over two Cobb County deputies just outside of the county jail received a sentence of 61 years – 31 one of them behind bars.
AJC News reports that Candida Rychell Summerlin, 34, was found guilty but mentally ill in the May 2013 assaults.
On May 31, 2013, Summerlin was driving a blue Chevrolet rental car in the jail’s parking lot when she was asked to turn down her loud music. After being warned a second time, Summerlin drove away, first striking Lt. Becky Westenberger with her car and then Sgt. Shane Kite, who was running to assist Westenberger.
Both deputies survived the assault, though Westenberger has a permanent rod and four pins in her leg. She spoke during the sentencing.
“I wake up every morning thanking God for sparing my life,” she said. “She gave me my life sentence.”
Summerlin apologized for her actions. Her defense attorney argued that she suffers from bipolar disorder and did not know right from wrong at the time of the attack.
Summerlin was convicted on 13 charges, and after she completes her time in prison, she will serve the remaining 30 years of her sentence on probation.