A Georgia teen will serve nine years in jail after the death of his girlfriend in a Muscogee County auto accident. The sentencing follows the boy’s plea of guilty to the charges. Now, the district attorney for the county is prosecuting two more teens in relation to the underage DUI death.
These two additional teenage boys have been accused of trying to tamper with evidence and hide alcohol following the crash, which resulted in the girl being ejected from the car. They face felony charges of evidence-tampering, and they could spend as many as five years in jail if they are found guilty. The district attorney says he is handling these criminal cases as if they were dominos, and the recent sentencing of the first teen was only the first domino.
Allegedly, the recently sentenced teen and the two other teens were in three separate cars, and they were drag racing each other. The teen who was driving a Scion with the girl in it tried to pass the other vehicles, which reportedly caused the crash. According to prosecutors, the teens in the other cars ran to the accident scene and tried to hide beer that was in the Scion. Authorities claim that 23 minutes passed as the 16-year-old was dying before any of them called 911.
This Georgia underage DUI case highlights how prosecutors work to present facts relating to an accident in a compelling fashion, in accordance with their duty. However, at this time we only know the facts as they have been presented from one side of this case. Indeed, any alleged underage DUI charge that involves a fatality or serious injury comes with the threat of jail time if the accused person is ultimately convicted. Nevertheless, each individual in this case will have the right to defend himself against the charges in court. As each accused individual works to achieve a result in their own best interests, they have every right to challenge the evidence that the prosecution intends to use in court, as well as to confront witnesses who testify against them during the criminal proceedings.
Source: ledger-enquirer.com, “DA preps cases against two more teens involved in fatal ’12 crash”, Chuck Williams, April 14, 2014