Being struck in a crosswalk, as painful and frightening as was the experience, was something then new parents Bryan and Alexandra Hollon could understand.
Accidents happen.
What they could not grasp was the driver continuing without stopping after Alexandra Hollon, carrying their 4-month-old baby, rolled off the hood onto the pavement, and the family's beloved Boston terrier lay mortally injured. It happened in South Pasadena as they crossed Orange Grove Boulevard at Columbia Street four evenings before last Christmas.
And now, with the driver's sentencing eight months later, they wonder if Tiffani Monique Lowden should have received more than probation.
"We don't want her to have her life ruined," said Bryan Holloway Wednesday outside the Alhambra Courthouse. But he would have preferred a "heavier sentence," he said.
"She should have taken responsibility for her actions," he said.
The Hollons had hoped for a sentence that would send a message to drivers who find themselves in Lowden's situation.
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"The least she could have done would have been to - after realizing what had happened - pull over and called 911 and sought help for us," said Alexandra Hollon.
Prosecutor Sylvia Moore had argued for a prison sentence.
"The people believe this should be a state prison case," Moore said in court.
Superior Court Judge Michael Villalobos instead placed Lowden on three years formal probation, noting that the 39-year-old hospital clerical worker from Whittier had no prior criminal record. She did spend 22 days in county jail following her arrest.
After initially pleading not guilty in spring, Lowden had changed her plea to no contest. Offered a chance to be heard prior to sentencing, she read from a written statement.
"I'm very, very remorseful for my poor judgment that night," said Lowden.
At the time she was driving without a current license. She did not offer an explanation for why she failed to stop.
The Hollons were present in court, and Lowden addressed remarks to them.
"I will always be haunted by what I did to you," she said.
Moments earlier, both Hollons had made victim witness statements.
"I just hope she realizes she's changed our lives forever," said Alexanda Hollon, who works as an actor and who suffered a broken nose and extensive facial cuts.
Husband Bryan Hollon, a musician and producer known as "Boom Bip," escaped serious injury. Their daughter suffered two fractures in her skull, which have healed, though the parents still worry about potential developmental harm.
As part of her sentence, Lowden must do 30 days of public service, and will have to pay restitution, the amount to be determined at a later hearing.
Lowden left the courthouse without comment. She was ordered to return in October for a court date regarding the restitution issue.
