Atlanta Resident Sentenced to 16 Years in DUI Death of Police Officer

According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 2,597 people were killed in United States traffic accidents in December 2010. Of those, 775 deaths involved alcohol-impaired drivers. A 2006 study by the NHTSA estimated that there is one drunk driving fatality in the United States every 30 minutes.

Georgia's Driving Under the Influence Laws are complex. Georgia DUI injury attorney Shane Smith can sort through the intermingled laws that potentially create complications in a DUI case.

A 23-year-old Stone Mountain resident was sentence to 16 years in prison for the DUI death of Atlanta police officer Gail Thomas in 2012. Despite a guilty plea and a tearful apology, Chasity Jones was sentenced to the maximum time allowed for the infraction.

Officer Thomas died instantly while trying to direct traffic around another Atlanta auto accident. Jones was driving with three passengers headed for an Atlanta nightclub and was drinking Vodka punch while she drove. The prosecutor requested the maximum sentence of 15 years for vehicular homicide and an extra year for related traffic charges.

There were approximately 416 Georgia fatalities in 2008 related to drunk driving. According to the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), 29 percent of Georgia auto accidents involve alcohol or drugs. Mothers Against Drunk Driving reports that approximately one of every three vehicular fatalities involves drunk driving. On average drunk driving kills someone in America every hour. Every 90 seconds someone is injured due to drunk driving. 

If you have questions about Georgia DUI laws, get the answers in Clayton County DUI injury attorney Shane Smith's book, I Was Hit By a Drunk Driver: What Do I Do Next? Contact Shane Smith Law to schedule a free legal consultation.

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