By PAVEL BAILEY
Tribune Staff Reporter
pbailey@tribunemedia.net
“I WISH you rot in jail,” a woman told the father of her child yesterday as he was jailed for 15 years for trying to kill her by running her over with a car as she held their infant.
Petra Curry addressed her attacker, Ray Sands, 34, from the witness stand in court yesterday as he appeared for sentencing.
Sands faced charges of attempted murder and exposing a child to grievous harm.
The incident dates back to November 15, 2021 – and video of the attack was widely shared on social media at the time.
Sands drove to Petra Curry’s home to speak with her that night. After an argument, Sands head-butted the woman and dragged her in the road, pulling her hair while she held their one-year-old daughter. When onlookers separated the two, Sands entered his Nissan Note and ran over Ms Curry before crashing into a wall.
Ms Curry suffered from multiple broken bones and ribs, and road rash.
In his latest court appearance, Sands accepted a plea deal negotiated by his attorney Joel Seymour and pleaded guilty to the offence.
When the judge asked him what he thought about his actions, he said nothing.
Ms Curry was asked if she wanted to address him, and she limped to the witness stand.
On the verge of tears, she said she doesn’t remember the incident but believes she would have died that day if not for bystanders. She told Sands taking the plea deal was the easy way out.
“Me and my child could have been dead,” she said. “I don’t know how I’m still alive. My life will never be the same and you took the easy way out by taking this plea deal. I wish you rot in jail.”
Justice Turner told the convict his prison sentence would have been much steeper if he were convicted following a lengthy trial.
Sands was sentenced to 15 years for the attempted murder charge and four years for the grievous harm charge to be served concurrently. The judge noted that the one year and seven months Sands spent in prison would be deducted from his sentence.
While on remand, Sands will be enrolled in anger management classes.
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