Accused hit-and-run driver on trial for bicyclist's death

Monday, December 8, 2014
Driver on trial for bicyclist's death
Trial is underway for a woman accused in the hit and run death of a Houston cyclist in 2013

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Trial is underway for a woman accused in the hit and run death of a Houston cyclist over a year ago.

Margaret Mayer, 35, is charged with failure to stop and render aid, resulting in the death of 24-year-old Chelsea Norman on December 2, 2013.

Drivers near Waugh and West Gray discovered Norman lying in the street after being struck by a vehicle. Norman later died of her injuries.

Authorities say Norman was hit after leaving work at Whole Foods nearby. Police say the driver never stopped to check on her.

"Quite honestly there's no such thing as closure. It's fiction. But it helps the wounds close. It helps you sleep better, " says the victim's father, Randy Norman.

He and the rest of Norman's family and friends wore blue ribbons in her honor to court. Blue, they say, was her favorite color.

Prosecutor Alison Baimbridge says defendant Mayer tried to cover up evidence and fix her truck, obscuring evidence from police.

Mayer's defense attorney Guy Womack, though, says, "We have scientific evidence that her vehicle was not the contributor of the paint chips found on the bicycle."

Mayer faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.