A judge, in wanting to give an example to the community in regards to a DUI that caused the death of one person and injury of two others, has sentenced the driver to prison for 25 years, as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The driver, A.T., had four prior DUI offenses and had been ordered not to drive as a condition of his probation on one of them, before he drove his car through a red light and into a taxi cab - in what is generally referred to as a "t-bone" - on October 1, 2006.
The incident occurred at the intersection of Ellis and Fort streets. A.T. had been driving home from an Atlanta Falcons game, where he had been drinking.
His blood tests revealed that his blood alcohol level was more than double the legal driving limit.
Fulton Superior Court Judge Constance Russell said that she wanted the community to know that such actions deserved very stern punishment.
A.T. pleaded guilty and received his sentence on September 12.
Dying instantly in the collision was a female passenger in the taxi, S.B., of West Virginia.
S.B. was a 31 year-old military veteran and currently attended the University of Charleston to attain a degree in nursing. She had come to Atlanta to spend the weekend with her children, a girl and a boy, aged 3 and 7 respectively.
Also in the taxi was S.B.'s boyfriend, E.H.
E.H. suffered with a collapsed lung. He also lost eyesight in one of his eyes.
The cab driver, H.M., continues to suffer with severe brain trauma, and other injuries, after being in a coma for two months.
S.B.'s mother, C.H., said that her grandchildren were overwhelmed at the loss of their mother. C.H. told the judge to "Hit (A.T.) with the max.
They sent my child back in a box."
A.T. pleaded guilty to three counts: one for vehicular homicide and two for serious injury by vehicle. He would have been facing up to 48 years had he pleaded guilty to, and been convicted for, all of the charges he had faced.
E.H. is the father of S.B.'s three-year-old daughter and has difficulty looking into the little girl's face without seeing her pain. He said of his own injuries, "I wouldn't wish my worst enemies to go what I've gone through."
Letters, written by members of H.M.'s family, were read in court. He was described as a man that loved to bowl and golf.
Now, since the accident, he cannot walk, talk, swallow or follow simple commands.
H.M. also suffers with a loss of memory.
An uncle of A.T.'s, and others, spoke on his behalf and apologized to the families. The uncle, C.J.E., is the former mayor of Macon.
He explained that his nephew, among others in his family, suffers with bipolar disorder.
Brian Steel, one of A.T.'s lawyers, attested that his client had been receiving regular treatment at the Veteran's Administration - but failed to have treatment in the days leading up to the accident.
A.T. said, "I was drinking, I was driving, I had no business behind the wheel. I'm an alcoholic and a very sick person.
I clearly regret more than anything being introduced into the lives of these families in such a horrible way."
The judge, in acknowledging that bipolar is a mental illness and alcoholism is something else - a disease - said, "But, he made a decision to drive."
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