ATLANTA (WANF/Gray News) – A Georgia couple are accused of letting their daughter and her high school classmates drink alcohol before they got in a car crash that killed one of them. Authorities say the parents are two of three people now indicted in the case.
DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced three indictments Wednesday in the case of 18-year-old Sophia Lekiachvili, a Lakeside High School student who was killed in a February crash, WANF reports.
Hannah Hackemeyer, the 18-year-old driver of the car, was indicted on three counts of first-degree homicide by vehicle, three counts of serious injury by vehicle, driving under the influence under the age of 21, driving under the influence of alcohol and possession of an open container of alcoholic beverage in the passenger area.
Hackemeyer and Lekiachvili were high school classmates.
Another passenger in the car, 17-year-old Ananya Rao, was also a classmate. Her parents, 50-year-old Sumanth Rao and 49-year-old Anindita Rao, are accused of allowing the high schoolers to drink in their home and drive the car before the crash.
Boston announced they were indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless conduct and maintaining a disorderly house.
“As a prosecutor and a mother of two teenage daughters, I’ve never seen a more egregious disregard for safety and wellbeing for young people as I have in this case,” Boston said.
She said the Raos “knew the girls had been drinking, but they still let them get into a car and leave the house with an open bottle of wine in the front seat.”
”Less than 30 minutes later, a little more than a half mile away, that decision would prove deadly,” Boston said.
The single-car accident happened Feb. 24 on Oak Grove Road near Kirkland Drive. Investigators say Hackemeyer was speeding, with the car’s airbag control module showing she was going 98 miles per hour just one second before the crash. She also reportedly had a blood alcohol concentration of .046, which is over twice the legal limit for a person under 21.
Boston referred to the Raos’ home as “the party house,” where teenagers were often allowed to drink alcohol.
“Halloween, Homecoming, the last day of school,” Boston said. “It is a miracle that nothing happened prior to Feb. 24. Mr. and Mrs. Rao’s choices that night led to the death of a teenage girl.”
Hackemeyer faces up to 30 years in prison. The Raos face up to 10 years in prison.
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