Georgia authorities have charged a teenager and two parents with felonies in connection with a crash that claimed the life of another 18-year-old woman.
DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston has charged Hannah Hackemeyer, 18, the driver of the vehicle involved in the crash, with three counts of vehicular homicide and driving under the influence, among other crimes.
Her friend’s parents, Sumanth Rao, 50, and Anindita Rao, 49, face involuntary manslaughter charges for allegedly permitting the teens to consume alcohol prior to the fatal crash that claimed Sophia Lekiachvili’s life.
Prosecutors say Hackemeyer, Lekiachvili, and the Rao’s daughter were drinking at the Rao home on the night of February 23 and into February 24. Sumanth Rao and Anindita Rao had given the underage teens permission to drink.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Boston told reporters that the Rao home was known as a “party house” where underage drinking was common.
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Boston explained that it was Halloween, homecoming, and the last day of school. “It is a miracle that nothing happened before February 24. Mr. and Mrs. Rao’s choices that night resulted in the death of a teenage girl.”
According to prosecutors, the teenagers had just finished a bottle of wine when they decided to take a drive shortly before midnight. Hackemeyer drove, and Lekiachvili sat in the front passenger seat, while the Rao girl sat in the back.
They had an open bottle of wine in their car. Hackemeyer allegedly drove the Mazda CX-5 at nearly 100 mph, more than 60 mph over the speed limit, when she lost control and crashed, causing the vehicle to roll over.
Hackemeyer and the Rao girl crawled from the car. First responders rushed to the scene, discovering Lekiachvili trapped in the passenger seat. They extricated her and rushed her to the hospital, where she died of injuries.
An investigation revealed that Hackemeyer allegedly had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.046, more than twice the legal limit for someone under the age of 21.
“This crash was a foreseeable consequence of allowing underage drinking in their home and worse—allowing someone who they knew had consumed alcohol—to drive,” Boston’s mayor said in a statement.
“We recognize that prosecuting these cases will not bring Sophia back, but we hope that, by pursuing justice in her death, we may prevent future tragedies.
