Driver who killed Granby woman cited for "defective equipment" twice in past six months

The woman who was driving on the wrong side of the road when she struck and killed 72-year-old Ranae Powell of Granby Monday morning has pleaded guilty to two "defective equipment" charges in the past five months in Diamond Municipal Court.

Granby Police are still investigating the accident and at this point have issued no citations to the driver, Danielle Hill, 22, Granby. Mrs. Powell and a friend were walking south along the edge of the northbound lane near the intersection of Main and Cherry streets, according to the police report, when a southbound Hyundai Tiburon driven by Hill, crossed into the northbound lane and hit Mrs. Powell from behind. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Court records indicate Hill has a long record of traffic violations with the most serious ones happening in just the past few months.

The Diamond Police arrested Hill December 10 and she pleaded guilty and received a suspended sentence January 28 to "defective equipment" a catch-all term that is often used for more serious violations. She was placed on probation for six months.

And, in fact, Hill's next violation, which also resulted in her arrest by the Diamond Police Department only four days after she received the suspended sentence, ended up in a fine for an unspecified amount for "defective equipment." That violation ,however, is listed as "municipal, alcohol/drug related" on the case header.

Hill has a lengthy list of violations, beginning in 2010, according to online court records.

-November 28, 2010- Hill was stopped by the Missouri Highway Patrol for speeding, at least 20 miles over the limit and for not wearing a seat belt. She was fined $150.

-The Neosho Police stopped her for what is described as a "miscellaneous driver's license violation" on October 24, 2011, She received a suspended sentence, but whatever the violation was, it was serious enough for the judge to fine her $531.50 and to place her on probation for two years beginning January 23, 2012. Court records show she "successfully completed" the probation on January 23, 2014.

Hill has at least a half-dozen other violations, mostly for failure to register her vehicle, but the Missouri Highway Patrol has stopped her twice this year.

On February 6, she was cited for operating a motor vehicle on the highway without a valid driver's license and on March 6, she was charged with not wearing a seatbelt.