Nearly two years after Allison Bell Campbell was killed in a tragic drunk driving accident in Georgia, 18-year-old McKenzie Farrow Crowe has taken a plea deal on charges of DUI, vehicular homicide and failure to maintain lane. Crowe was scheduled to go to trial this week, but the teen instead took a plea deal and was sentenced by Newton County Superior Court Judge Eugene Benton to 15 years in prison. The charges brought against the Georgia teen stem from the January 2012 incident in which Crowe and Campbell were involved in a head-on collision and Campbell was killed. If you have lost a loved one in a DUI-caused accident in Atlanta, Marietta, or elsewhere in Georgia, contact our knowledgeable drunk driving attorneys at Rechtman & Spevak to discuss your options for legal recourse.
Crowe Under Influence of “Medication/Drugs/Alcohol”
According to the accident report from the Georgia State Patrol, McKenzie Crowe was driving on Cook Road in a 2003 Ford Ranger when she crossed the center line and hit Campbell’s vehicle head-on. Crowe was trapped in her vehicle and had to be extricated before being airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, where she was treated for her injuries and released. According to retired Georgia State Patrol spokesman Gordy Wright,“alcohol was suspected” as a possible cause of the fatal DUI accident, and Crowe’s listed condition at the time of the crash was “under the influence of medication/drugs/alcohol.” Campbell was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision and was partially ejected from the vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Consequences of Drunk Driving Accidents
In May, Crowe turned herself in to the Newton County Jail and pleaded guilty on November 4 to vehicular homicide first degree, failure to maintain lane and DUI (under 21). As part of her plea deal, Crowe is required to serve three of the 15 years in jail before being released and is required to serve another year after that with an ankle monitor. According to the Newton County District Attorney’s Office, the Georgia teen has also been ordered to speak to students at local high schools, warning other people her age about the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. “There are no winners in a tragedy like this,” said prosecutor Melanie Bell after Crowe’s sentencing hearing. “I hope that Ms. Crowe will embrace the opportunity to reach out to other young people so that they can truly understand the dangers of drinking and driving.”
Source: http://www.rockdalenews.com/section/1/article/17714/
