Woman sentenced for role in accident that cost daughter's arm

~Mother pleads guilty to reduced charges.

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A mother accused of leading her daughter beneath a train that later severed the child's arm pleaded guilty to reduced charges in the incident and was sentenced to one year in jail.

Glenda Ross, 34, of Scott City, was originally charged with three counts of felony endangering the welfare of a child in the Oct. 30, 2005, incident at a Scott City train yard. She led three children, two of her own and one of their friends, beneath the coupling of two rail cars resting on railroad tracks.

The arm of Ross' then-7-year-old daughter was severed as the train began moving. No one else was injured.

In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors amended the three counts to misdemeanors, assistant prosecuting attorney Dana Weis said.

Judge Mark Richardson, who heard the case in Butler County on a change of venue, sentenced Ross to one year in jail. The defendant could have been jailed for up to three years.

Following the jail term, Ross will be placed on two years' supervised probation, according to Weis.

"It's nice to close the case," Weis said.

The plea deal comes following a mistrial in Butler County in late April.

After a daylong trial and nearly five and a half hours of jury deliberations, the jurors told the judge they were "hopelessly deadlocked" and unable to reach a verdict, forcing Richardson to declare the mistrial.

During the trial, Ross testified that the children and her boyfriend were walking to look at a trailer for rent when the girls wanted to play near an old schoolhouse. About half an hour later, the group began walking toward the trailer, with Ross suggesting cutting across the tracks and between two box cars. The boyfriend passed over a train coupling, and Ross led the children underneath.

Mikayla, Ross' daughter, was the last to pass beneath the coupling and was injured as the train began moving.

At the time of the incident, Ross had visitation rights for Mikayla while the child's father maintained custody, which he still has.

kmorrison@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127