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No jail time for East Aurora woman who struck child with her vehicle

Erin Kuntz, 30, was sentenced to five years probation for vehicular assault.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The woman who hit a 9-year-old child and caused serious injuries will not spend any time in jail. 

Erin Kuntz, 30, was sentenced to five years probation for vehicular assault.

Investigators say Kuntz was driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol on East Main Street in the Village of East Aurora when she hit the child. 

She pleaded guilty in December to vehicular assault for hitting the 9-year-old girl with her car in July.

Erie County District Attorney John Flynn says she had been coming back from a German festival where she was drinking on and off for about six hours. 

The girl was taken to hospital and was treated for serious injuries. She has since recovered from her physical injuries.

"The family of this nine-year-old little girl was, quite frankly, extremely forgiving in this matter. I give them credit for their forgiveness. The father wrote a letter to the judge. The father did not ask for jail time. The father left it to the judge's discretion and did not specifically request jail in this matter, so we stood by the father here," says Erie County District Attorney John Flynn.

In addition to probation, Kuntz's driver license is suspended for six months. When she gets her license back, she must have an ignition interlock device installed in her vehicle. 

Speaking in court, Kuntz said 'I hurt a child.. and I'm really very sorry for that." Judge Susan Eagan said Kuntz was "the most contrite DWI defendant she's presided over."

Kuntz and her attorneys did not speak with us on their way out of court.

She could have gotten seven years in prison, but Flynn says this sentence isn't out of the ordinary, because Kuntz had no prior convictions.

"There's been cases of probation on death cases. So, yeah, this was not out of line, and again, it was even more of a, it was even easier for the judge to do obviously with the family not screaming for jail because if the family would have been screaming for jail, then I would have been screaming for jail," said Flynn.

RELATED: East Aurora woman pleads guilty to vehicular assault

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