Distracted Driving the Cause of Fatal Car Crash In Cobb County GA

Danielle Garcia, 26, from Douglasville was arrested in connection with a crash that happened March 10 that killed 36 year-old youth basketball coach Katrina Cook, of Hiram.

According to the AJC, police completed a month-long investigation into what happened to cause the wreck and charged Garcia with second degree vehicular homicide, following too closely, driving while license expired, and distracted driving.

On March 10 Garcia was driving her Mazda truck on C.H. James Parkway near Austell when she attempted to pass a Toyota truck when she hit the truck, causing the driver to lose control and strike an Infiniti G35 head-on.  After being hit by the Toyota truck, the Infiniti ended up in front of a Freightliner tractor-trailer and the big rig crashed into the Infiniti, causing it to catch fire.

Cook, the driver of the Infiniti, died at the scene.  The driver of the Toyota truck was sent to Atlanta Medical Center with serious, but not life-threatening injuries.  No one else required medical attention.

Garcia's arrest warrant says that she got a text message on her cell phone right before the crash, but deleted it before letting police see her phone.  She was also accused of making many phone calls and placed a call at the time of the accident.

Garcia surrendered Monday morning and was still being held in the Cobb County Jail Monday night on a $50,000 bond.

This story is a tragic example of what can happen when drivers text while driving.  No text message is worth losing a life.  Drivers should pull over to the side of the road or into a parking lot if they have received a message that just cannot wait.  Hands-free devices make phone use in the car a bit safer but generally, not using a phone at all while driving is safest.  Studies show that drivers that text and drive are 23 times more likely to get into a car crash than drivers that do not.

Second degree vehicular homicide, while a misdemeanor, is a serious charge with serious punishments that can be up to one year in jail, a $1000 fine, or possibly both.  All of these people's lives have been changed because someone wasn't paying attention to the most important thing while driving: the road.

If you or someone you know are facing a charge of vehicular homicide or any traffic-related offense, contact the Law Offices of Richard Lawson.  Richard Lawson is a top-rated attorney with almost 20 years of experience in handling such cases.  Waiting around for your case to defend itself won't help, but a call to the Law Offices of Richard Lawson will.  Don't wait.  Call now!