Judge Overturns Homicide Conviction Linked to Faulty GM Ignition Switch

A judge in Texas has overturned a 7-year-old negligent homicide conviction of a woman whose General Motors Co. car crashed three years earlier because of a defective ignition switch.

Police decided at the time that Candice Anderson was under the influence of illegal drugs when her Saturn Ion ran off the road, hit a tree and killed her boyfriend. She later pleaded guilty to negligent homicide.

Anderson's plea came five months after an internal investigation by GM concluded her crash was caused by the faulty switch, which abruptly shut off the engine, power steering, power brakes and airbags.

But GM said nothing to her or Texas law enforcement officials about its conclusion, thus allowing her to be prosecuted. The company finally recalled 2.6 million cars, including Anderson's model, this year to replace their defective switches.