Thomas Burnoski, a city gardener in San Francisco, turned himself in on Tuesday to face charges in a case where he is accused of running over a woman while she lay with her baby in the Bernal Heights Park.
Burnoski, 58, is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday after being charged with felony counts of vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.
Burnoski was arrested on Sept. 5, the day of the accident, but was free on bail.
He allegedly ran over Christine Svanemyr, 35, while she lay with her dog and baby in the grass at the park.
Burnoski’s attorneys said that he veered onto the grass from a paved pedestrian path to avoid an unleashed dog. But department policy prohibits workers from driving on the paths.
“We believe in this case it was a tragic accident, but it wasn’t criminal,” attorney Tony Tamburello, whose firm is representing Burnoski, said Tuesday.
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