Driver who hit and killed 78-year-old author, foster care advocate Janet Mann gets community service after emotional sentencing hearing

Gary F. Burns poured tears while hugging the man whose wife he killed in a hit-and-run last spring in downtown Spokane.

During Burns’ sentencing Friday, Paul Mann said his wife, 78-year-old Janet Mann, would have been the first to forgive Burns, and he would be the second.

Janet Mann lived a “remarkable life” and touched thousands of lives, Paul Mann said.

“What we control is how we react and how we live our lives going forward,” Paul Mann said.

Spokane County Superior Court Judge Charnelle Bjelkengren accepted a plea deal Friday for felony failure to remain at the scene of a fatal accident, then sentenced the 42-year-old Burns to 240 hours of community service, a sentence recommended by the prosecution and defense.

Burns faced more than three years in prison if he was sentenced at the high end of the range, but he was eligible to receive a sentence outside that normal range because he doesn’t have any past felony convictions.

Bjelkengren said she had never seen a first-time offender waiver for a crime of this magnitude, but she heeded the attorneys’ recommendations and testimony Friday.

“The recommendation does not seem commensurate with the loss of Janet Mann’s life,” Bjelkengren said.

But ultimately, Bjelkengren said there’s no sentence that truly matches her life, and she didn’t want to take Burns, who expressed great remorse, away from his family.

Paul Mann, who spoke on behalf of his family, said he hoped community service and treatment for anxiety will allow Burns to forgive himself and make something positive out of that “horrible day.”

The crime stems from the afternoon of June 11 at Browne Street and Main Avenue, according to court documents.

Witness statements and video surveillance showed a gray 2007 Chevrolet Silverado strike Janet Mann and then run over her before leaving the scene, documents say. Janet Mann died from her injuries at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Janet Mann was on her way to meet her grandson for lunch, Genevieve Mann Morris, one of Mann’s daughters, told The Spokesman-Review last year.

Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Sharon Hedlund on Friday called the collision “totally random” as Janet Mann was walking across the street when she was “mowed down” by Burns.

Police searched the Burnses’ Spokane Valley home days later and found the Silverado backed into the garage.

Burns, who was arrested eight days after he hit Janet Mann, admitted to being the driver and sole occupant of the Silverado at the time of the crash, according to court documents. He said he didn’t see Janet Mann before the crash, nor did he intend to hit her.

He told police he immediately drove to his residence and concealed the truck in his garage.

Robert Cossey, Burns’ attorney, said Friday his client “freaked out” and couldn’t control his emotions after hitting her.

Hedlund said Janet Mann was well-respected in Spokane and worked to better the community. She said her death not only affects her family, but the community as a whole.

Janet Mann co-authored a book in 2017 and was a former director of Children’s Ark, a foster parenting program that ran until 2009. She and her husband also were two of the primary owners who revitalized the downtown Ridpath Club Apartments.

The Mann couple, who were married for 55 years, lived on the top floor of the former downtown hotel.

Mann Morris told The Spokesman-Review last year her mom loved living downtown. Janet Mann was an “amazingly active person” who rode her bicycle 20 miles a day, did yoga, meditated and walked everywhere, Mann Morris said.

As part of Burns’ community service, Hedlund said the Mann family hoped Burns could use his construction skills volunteering for Habitat for Humanity or something similar to help others.

Burns, who has been out of custody, turned to the Mann family sitting in the court gallery and apologized.

“Not a day goes by I don’t think about her,” he said through tears.

Burns’ wife also extended her deepest apologies to the family.

“Gary lives it every day, and it hurts him every single day,” she said with several of her loved ones sitting behind her.

Burns then stood and hugged Paul Mann for several moments while crying and expressing his apologies. The two embraced after the sentencing outside the courtroom as well.

Bjelkengren also imposed one year of community custody, and Burns’ driver’s license will be suspended for a time determined by the Washington State Department of Licensing.