Driver in Accident That Killed 6-Year-Old Pleads Guilty to Careless Driving

The driver of the vehicle that fatally struck a village six-year-old girl in 2011 pleaded guilty to a single charge of careless driving through her attorney on Thursday.

Mirjam Kaiser, 25, of Germany, was behind the wheel of the vehicle struck Kelly Creegan in an Overbrook Road driveway on the evening of Nov. 14, 2011.

Police said she proceeded up the driveway of the house next door, crossed the small grass boundary between the two driveways and struck Creegan, who was playing with a friend in the driveway.

Investigators said Kaiser, who was the au pair for the family at 420 Overbrook, never saw Creegan.

Kaiser's attorney, Joseph Rem, said Thursday night in Ridgewood Municipal Court that the German college student was deeply affected by the tragic accident.

"Much sadness resides with her every day," he said. "It's very difficult for everyone involved. My client bears a difficult burden."

Prosecutor Margaret Sullivan pushed for Judge David Pfund to suspend the license of Kaiser so as to "not diminish the act itself." She told the judge that Kaiser, "a small person," was driving a large vehicle "with high sides" and was unable to see adequately in all directions. It amounted to careless driving and resulted in "catastrophic results," Sullivan argued.

Pfund on Thursday deferred suspension to the Department of Motor Vehicles, though the point is largely moot with Kaiser having returned to Germany.

Kaiser pleaded guilty to careless driving and was ordered to pay $206 in addition to $33 in court costs. Sullivan said all civil actions had been resolved.

Creegan, the youngest daughter of volunteer firefighter Jeffrey and teacher Elise Creegan, was a parishioner of Our Lady Mt. Carmel Church and student at Somerville Elementary School.

The deceased was active in Daisy Girl Scouts and the Kindness Club, studied at Ridgewood Irish Dance Studio, and played soccer. In her memory, her parents have created The Kelly Creegan Memorial Foundation, which pledges to "scatter kindness throughout Ridgewood and beyond."