photo by: Nick Gerik/Journal-World File Photo

In this file photo from May 31, 2020, demonstrators marching against police brutality scramble as an SUV, obscured in center background, quickly accelerates through the crowd just south of the intersection at 11th and Massachusetts streets.

A Lawrence woman accused of driving a vehicle into a group of protesters last summer plans to apply for diversion, her attorney said in a court hearing on Wednesday.

Lynda C. Kitsmiller, 46, appeared in Douglas County District Court on Wednesday to ask for a continuation in the proceedings. She is facing two charges — reckless driving, an unclassified misdemeanor, and battery, a class B misdemeanor — in connection with a May 31, 2020, incident.

Kitsmiller was originally scheduled for a trial setting on Wednesday, but Judge James T. George approved the continuation request, setting Kitsmiller’s next appearance for May 12.

Craig Stancliffe, Kitsmiller’s attorney, said they were asking for the continuation because she is scheduled for significant surgery soon and the extra time would also give them a chance to apply for diversion in the case.

“We would prefer to go through the process of applying for a diversion,” Stancliffe said.

A diversion is a process whereby someone accused of a crime is “diverted” from the usual legal procedures and instead completes the terms of an agreement, which may include some sort of rehabilitation program or fine. If the program is successfully completed, the criminal charges could be dropped.

Stancliffe did not respond to the Journal-World’s request for further comment.

According to previous Journal-World reports, on May 31, 2020, Kitsmiller allegedly accelerated a green SUV into protesters occupying the intersection of 11th and Massachusetts streets during a solidarity march against police brutality, the Journal-World reported.

One person was reportedly injured near 11th and Massachusetts streets when the car quickly accelerated through a group of marchers that was attempting to redirect the vehicle. The person did not appear to suffer significant injuries and was able to leave without assistance, according to a registered nurse at the scene who helped treat the person’s injuries. Lawrence police said at the time that one person suffered minor injuries in the incident but declined help from medics and did not want to speak with law enforcement at the scene.

According to the charging document in the case, Kitsmiller is accused of unlawfully driving the vehicle with “willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property” and causing bodily harm to another person.

Under state statute, a defendant convicted of reckless driving for the first time “shall be sentenced to not less than five days nor more than 90 days imprisonment or fined not less than $25 nor more than $500, or both such fine and imprisonment.” If convicted of a class B misdemeanor battery, a defendant could face up to six months in the county jail and a fine of no more than $1,000.