Once the two sides negotiate a plea deal, two men will plead guilty to a Douglas County, Georgia, DUI crash that took the life of a teenage girl.
The man behind the wheel during the crash was both drunk and a minor. He crashed his vehicle in February following a night of drinking. A DUI is a serious charge on its own. When an injury or death results from an accident involving an alcohol-impaired driver, the DUI charge can be upgraded to a felony or a charge of vehicular homicide can be added to the DUI charges, as happened in this case.
Investigators at the scene said that the man’s car flipped several times. A 16-year-old passenger was ejected from the vehicle and killed. Two other passengers were injured. At least one of the injured passengers is still recovering. Another passenger who was in the vehicle ran away from the scene following the crash. He is an adult and has been charged with giving alcohol to the underage driver.
Police have also charged several other adults with misdemeanors for facilitating the drinking before the incident. According to WSBTV, the family of the victim has agreed with striking plea deals with the defendant and would just rather put the tragedy behind them. This sentiment was echoed by the family of one of the passengers injured in the accident, a 15-year-old boy.
The plea deal negotiations are pending, but the district attorney stated he will only work out a deal if it involves jail time for both men on trial. If no deal can be worked out, the case will go to court, and, if convicted, the men face up to 30 years in prison.
Source: WSBTV, “Men Plan To Plead Guilty In Fatal DUI Crash,” Aug. 17, 2011