Tazewell, VA: Browning receives 16 years

By JIM TALBERT
Published: March 2, 2011

TAZEWELL – A man who ran over his girlfriend on route 19 last March will serve 16 years and six months in the penitentiary.
Rodney Shane Browning, 40, of Cedar Bluff was sentenced by Circuit Judge Teresa Chaffin March 2 for one count of Aggravated Vehicular Manslaughter, one count of Contributing to Delinquency of a Minor and violating his probation.
He received a total of 27 years and six months with nine years suspended. He will be on probation for five years following his release from prison.
BROWNING’s sentence resulted from the March 28, 2010, death of his girlfriend, Natalee Jean McCall Knighten, 31, after she was struck by the pick-up truck driven by BROWNING shortly after midnight on Route 460 in the Wardell area of Tazewell County.
Evidence presented at the sentencing hearing from the Virginia State Police and Tazewell County Sheriff’s Department revealed that BROWNING and the victim had been drinking earlier in the evening at a Richlands’ restaurant. As BROWNING was driving an argument ensued and BROWNING stopped his vehicle near Southwest Virginia Community College, at which time Ms. Knighten exited the vehicle and began walking towards a family member’s residence. Ms. Knighten crossed Route 460 and began travelling west on the shoulder of the roadway. Testimony from Special Agent John Santolla of the Virginia State Police indicated that BROWNING proceeded to turn his truck and, while travelling west, struck Ms. Knighten with the corner of the vehicle.
Knighten died instantly according to the autopsy report. The late Shawn Hess stopped Browning about a mile from the scene of the accident and arrested him.
Eric Mullins, a former investigator with sheriff’s office testified that Browning was questioned for several hours before he was charged. Mullins said Browning repeatedly lied about his involvement in the incident and only after being given a polygraph did he admit to striking Knighten. Mullins said Browning’s blood alcohol content was .09 at the time he was arrested. .08 is considered intoxicated in Virginia
Several friends and relatives of Knighten testified about her life and the impact of her death on the family. . “The Commonwealth asked for the maximum sentence but respect the court’s judgment,” said Tazewell County Commonwealth’s Attorney Dennis Lee. “Natalee was an intelligent and vibrant young woman and our thoughts and prayers go out to her family.”