Elements supporting manslaughter or negligent homicide aren't there, police say

A makeshift memorial where Kimberly Lucier, left, suffered fatal injuries when she was struck by a hit-run driver. Right, her daughter Jennifer Patton (Rochester Voice photo; left, Voice file photo; right/WMUR image)

ROCHESTER - Family members of a city woman who died three days after being struck by a hit-and-run driver were devastated that the suspect was only charged with leaving the scene, but a Rochester Police spokesman said on Friday that a more severe charge such as manslaughter is not supported, at least not yet, because the statute governing such a charge is based on intent.
"Manslaughter is most associated with a mental state of recklessly, meaning that they are aware of and deliberately disregard a substantial or an unjustifiable risk of something happening," said Rochester Police Support Commander and Public Information Officer Andrew Swanberry.
He added that a vehicular hypothetical might be "speeding and illegally passing another vehicle on the right in an area where they should reasonably expect pedestrians to be walking on the side of the road, and striking and killing one of those pedestrians."
Rochester resident Kimberly Lucier succumbed on Monday to injuries suffered three days earlier when she was struck by a hit-and-run driver on Milton Road near the Lilac Mall Hannaford.
The driver of the vehicle who fled the scene contacted Rochester Police earlier this week, which led to the filing of an arrest warrant for 43-year-old Christopher Robinson of Milton.
Robinson was released on $5,000 unsecured bond, something that infuriated her two daughters.
"He leaves my mom on the side of the road and then he gets out two hours later? That's unbelievable," Jennifer Patton told WMUR on Thursday.
Lucier, a homeless person well known as "Kimmie" and beloved among the homeless community, had been living on the street for about seven years, she told The Rochester Voice in a January 2022 interview.
Robinson was charged with felony conduct after an accident for having left the scene of an accident that resulted in death or personal injury. The charge carries a three and a half to seven year prison sentence.
Swanberry noted that negligent homicide is also sometimes charged in vehicular cases, but that requires "the mental state of 'negligently' meaning that someone fails to become aware of a substantial risk of something happening."
He said that an example of such might be texting while driving and striking and killing a pedestrian.
"Absent information to establish negligence or recklessness, we don't have probable cause to support either of those charges," he told The Rochester Voice.
"We are still investigating," he added. "If something comes up an additional or enhanced charge could be brought forward before the grand jury.
Robinson's arraignment in Strafford Superior Court is scheduled for July 13.