Teenager in Fatal South Fulton Crash Charged as an Adult

A fifteen-year-old will be charged with felony murder related to a car accident that resulted in a fatality.  He will be charged as an adult.

Quindarious Boddie is said to be at fault for the crash that killed a 29-year-old woman while attempting to elude police while driving a stolen car.

Tiffany Madison, the woman who died, was a passenger in a Ford Mustang when Boddie allegedly did not stop for a red light at Delowe Drive around 3 pm last Saturday afternoon.

The police had earlier tried to stop the car, but to no avail.  The stolen Dodge Neon Boddie was driving crashed into the Mustang.  A total of five people were taken to the hospital for injuries, including occupants of a third car that was also hit.

After investigation, the Georgia State Patrol also charged Boddie with driving under the influence of alcohol; failure to obey a traffic control device; fleeing and eluding police; reckless driving; theft by receiving; serious injury by vehicle; passing in a no-passing zone; no seat belt and driving while unlicensed.

Discussion:

Now let's discuss the two most serious charges against this young man.  First of all, there is the felony murder charge.  Why not first-degree vehicular homicide / homicide by vehicle instead?

The charge of murder is likely from the stolen car, not because they think Boddie killed Ms. Madison on purpose.  For example, say a security guard shoots at a bank robber as he is leaving the bank with bags of money.  If the security guard misses and accidentally kills an innocent bystander, the bank robber would be charged with murder for that death along with robbing the bank.  If a felony was the proximate cause of someone's death, you are criminally responsible.  This is the risk a person takes when committing a felony.

However, this will probably end up being a charge of first-degree vehicular homicide, which is a felony, due to the additional charge of DUI.

First-degree vehicular homicide has a punishment that can vary from 3 to five years of incarceration.  For habitual violators, the punishment can be 5 to 20 years.

Secondly, there is the serious injury by vehicle charge. This charge is in relation to the other people that were injured by Boddie in the crash. Georgia Code Section § 40-6-394 says that serious injury by vehicle is:

“caus[ing] bodily harm to another by depriving him of a member of his body, by rendering a member of his body useless, by seriously disfiguring his body or a member thereof, or by causing organic brain damage which renders the body or any member thereof useless through the violation of O.C.G.A. § 4-6-390 [Reckless Driving] or O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391 [DUI].”

That statute does not clearly define what is considered a “serious injury.”  The injury does not have to be permanent to be “serious;” it can be temporary and only has to impair or hurt the appearance of a person.

Malicious intent does not have to be present for serious injury by vehicle to be proven.  If a person is seriously injured by a DUI driver, that driver will be charged with a felony that can bring up to fifteen years in prison.  Even if the person hurt is your best friend, momma, or another family member.

Opinion:

For my readers, I am of the opinion that no child should ever be charged as an adult.  It is not because I feel the criminal acts here should be excused.  On the contrary, they should be punished.  However, this is the reason we have juvenile courts.

Children need to be given a second chance.  Their minds have not developed enough to understand the long-term consequences of their actions.  It makes no sense that for less serious crimes, we recognize that children cannot completely form criminal intent or know what impact their actions will have on their future and on others' lives.   However, for some reason, if the crime is serious enough, we completely forget why we treat children differently.  The real reason is that the masses demand retribution for serious crimes, and in effect, it is the politics of appeasing the masses and their need for revenge.  Children should not be thrown away; we need to rehabilitate them and punish adults accordingly.  Why do we not allow children to be adults and not engage in adult behavior until they are 18 but yet want to treat them as grown when they commit serious crimes?

Even children as young as 13 years of age have been tried as adults and sentenced to live their entire lives in prison, generally without regard to their age or the circumstances behind their offenses.  Many children in America are abused, neglected and impoverished. They witness violence in their homes as well as in the community. Without intervention, these kids struggle and become hopeless.  When they become teenagers, they may not be able to handle the challenges that come with adolescence and participate in violence and destructive behavior.

I do not support, even if popular with the general public, throwing away children who commit crimes.

If you or your child have been arrested for any DUI for DUI-related offense, contact the Atlanta DUI Lawyers with the Law Offices of Richard Lawson.  Our office has a seasoned Atlanta DUI Attorney that is waiting to take your call anytime, day or night.  Being charged with a DUI is not the end of the world.  Call us 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to speak with the most-reviewed Atlanta DUI Attorneys about the options that are available for your case.  Waiting to consult with an Atlanta DUI Lawyer could cause you to forget small, but relevant facts of your case.  Call now!