A Prattville woman pleaded guilty Monday to assault and leaving the scene of an accident in connection with a car-motorcycle collision that left the motorcycle rider severely brain damaged and in a permanent vegetative state.

Ashlee Rogers' guilty plea stemmed from an accident Sept. 8, 2002, in which her car collided with a motorcycle driven by Jamie Walker of Prattville at the intersection of Autauga County roads 19 and 33 in the Independence community. Walker was thrown from the motorcycle and struck a tree. Rogers left the scene without helping Walker.

"She's looking at two years to 20 years on each count," said 19th Judicial Circuit District Attorney Randall Houston, adding that a sentencing date has not been set.

Prattville attorney Louis Colley, who represents Rogers, said, "It's a tragic situation. She is very regretful. She has accepted responsibility. She entered a guilty plea because, as she told me, it's the right thing to do."

The 23-year-old victim lives with his mother, Kay Walker, in Prattville. He is confined to a hospital bed "in a vegetative state," and is fed a baby formula through a tube attached to his stomach, said Kay Walker. She said her son never regained consciousness.

"He has irreversible brain damage and spinal cord damage, and his leg had to be amputated," Kay Walker said. "He is completely paralyzed. He has no control over anything, except that he can open his eyes. When he opens his eyes, he just has a blank stare. He can't even hold his head up. I had to quit my job to look after him 24 hours a day. We live off his $900-per-month Social Security check.