Raquel Nelson homicide conviction
About
The Raquel Nelson homicide conviction was a case in which a mother was convicted of second degree vehicular homicide on the grounds that she made a bad choice about where to cross a busy highway, resulting in the death of her 4-year-old son after he was struck by a vehicle.
Driver
The driver of the vehicle, Jerry L. Guy, pleaded guilty to hit-and-run in exchange for vehicular homicide charges against him being dropped. He was released on probation after serving six months of a five-year sentence.
Guy's attorney said that Guy confessed to having consumed "a little" alcohol earlier in the day, being prescribed pain medication and being partially blind in his left eye.
Guy had been previously convicted of two-hit-and-runs on Feb. 17, 1997, for which he was sentenced to two years but only served one.
Missing information
- We have not yet found any mention of the date when the accident occurred.
- There are actually two intersections of Austell Road and Austell Circle; it's not clear which one is the scene of the accident. A photo diagram in this article shows a scene which looks more like the unnamed road on the opposite side, and about halfway between the two intersections.
Links
Petition
News
- 2011/07/25 [L..T] Let them eat bus transfers
- 2011/07/20 13:28 UTC [L..T] When design kills: The criminalization of walking Raquel Nelson, an Atlanta-area mother, was recently convicted of vehicular homicide because her 4-year-old son was struck by a car and killed while she was crossing a busy street at an intersection with no crosswalk.
- 2011/07/18 [L..T] Prosecuting the victim, absolving the perpetrators