Privileged Columbia protester who ‘murdered’ elderly couple in crash shouldn’t be on campus, outraged family says

According to police reports, Isabel Jennifer Seward, 20, crossed the double line as a teenager and collided head-on with Chet and Connie Hawkins on September 8, 2020.

Seward, the daughter of high-ranking UPS executive William J. Seward, was 16 years old at the time and comes from a wealthy family.

When she was detained by the NYPD in Columbia on Thursday, she listed her home address as a $2.2 million mansion in a small part of northeast Atlanta.

After the 2020 crash, Seward pleaded no contest to a traffic ticket and was fined $220 — which her mother paid, according to the Rutland Herald.

Seward was not charged with any crime related to the crash, and a spokesperson for the Vermont State Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the case.

The Post’s calls for comment to Isabel Seward and her family were not returned.

Taylor said her aunt and uncle were high school sweethearts who lived in Charlotte, Virginia, for many years.

Police told local media at the time of the crash that Seward gave conflicting answers about what happened leading up to the head-on crash, including whether she was texting.

However, police reports and photos from the crash scene indicate that her pickup crossed the double line on US Route 7 in Charlotte, Vermont and struck Chet and Connie head-on.

“Her truck ran over the hood of their car and crushed my aunt and uncle,” Taylor said.

Connie, 72, died instantly, according to local media reports. A seriously injured Chet, 73, suffered “for several hours,” Taylor said, as first responders struggled to free him from the mangled wreckage.

He died five hours later in a nearby hospital.

Seward’s case became a point of contention between the Vermont State Police and the Chittenden County Prosecutor’s Office, which was reportedly angry that the department released her name in a news release.

According to the Rutland Herald, state police were told by Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George not to mention the then-teenager’s name, but the department made her name public after a legal review, citing a wide range to transparency and public transparency from both the department and the state. records laws.

The Post’s revelation that Seward is back in the news has once again infuriated Chat and Connie’s family, Taylor said.

“Chet and Connie’s family are all furious,” she said. “It’s outrageous that they didn’t throw her off campus.”

Originally published as Privileged Columbia protester who ‘murdered’ elderly couple in crash shouldn’t be on campus, outraged family says