Woman, 24, Found Guilty Of Running Over Another Woman In Mpls. Parking Lot

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Officials say a 24-year-old woman was found guilty of criminal vehicular operation for running over another woman last year in a downtown Minneapolis parking lot.

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office said it took the jury three hours Friday to find Vanessa Uzong, of Minneapolis, guilty in the incident that happened on Oct. 18, 2014.

According to officials, Uzong and her friends were fighting with the victim, 26-year-old Meira Horton, and her friends early that morning in downtown Minneapolis.

After the two groups separated, Uzong got into her Dodge Magnum and sped through a parking lot near Hennepin Avenue and 5th Street. While doing so, she hit Horton and dragged her through the parking lot before rear-ending another car.

Witnesses told police that Horton and her friends tried to move out of the way but Uzong swerved to hit them.

Horton was hospitalized with a punctured lung, a lacerated liver, a shattered pelvis, a broken femur, and a fractured ankle and ribs.

Uzong's lawyer argued it was all an accident. While the jury was not convinced, they did acquit Uzong of a first-degree assault charge.

Uzong is slated to be sentenced on Oct. 12.

The attorney's office says prosecutors will ask that Uzong spend the same amount of time in the workhouse that her victim spent in the hospital: about six months.