A teenage girl has been arrested in connection with a drunken car crash that killed a high school student, while police are pressing charges against the parents of another passenger.
Sophia Lekiachvili, 18, died in a car accident after leaving a drunken gathering at her friend’s house on February 24 to go for an overnight drive in Atlanta, Georgia.
Hannah Hackemeyer, also 18, the driver of the car, was formally charged with more charges during a press conference on Wednesday after initially being arrested for driving under the influence in April. Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
Sumanth Rao, 50, and Anindita Rao, 49, who are the parents of another passenger, have also been charged for allowing underage drinking in their home, which reportedly became known for parties, before the fatal accident.
Dekalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston noted that the couple “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.”
“Halloween, Homecoming, the last day of school,” Boston said Law and Crime. ‘It’s a miracle that nothing happened before February 24.
‘Sir. and Ms. Rao’s choices that night led to the death of a teenage girl.”
Three people are facing felony charges in connection with the death of Sophia Lekiachvili, 18, who was tragically killed in a drunken car crash in Atlanta, Georgia last February.
Anindita Rao, 49, is charged along with her husband on three counts of allowing three minor children to drink at their home before the fatal wreck — a home considered a “party house”
Hannah Hackemeyer, 18, the driver of the car, was formally charged on Wednesday with more charges after initially being arrested for driving under the influence in April
Hackemeyer, Lekiachvili and Ananya, the couple’s daughter, drank at the Rao household earlier this year.
The teenagers – who were in full view of the Rao parents – had just drank a bottle of wine before telling the adults they were going for a night drive.
Shortly before midnight they left the house while drinking another bottle of wine.
But just 30 minutes later and less than half a mile away, the decision to leave the house proved fatal.
Hackemeyer was driving a Mazda CX-5 at nearly 100 mph with Lekiachvili in the passenger seat and Rao in the back when she lost control and the car crashed, causing the vehicle to overturn.
“Hannah was traveling more than 60 miles per hour over the limit and reached 90 miles per hour just one second before the crash,” Boston said.
“The car’s computer showed she never pressed the brakes.”
Hackemeyer and Rao were able to crawl out of the car, leaving Lekiachvili seriously injured and trapped in the passenger seat.
First responders rushed to the scene and freed the teen before taking her to the hospital, where she died from her injuries several hours later.
Hackemeyer was arrested last April and initially charged with failure to maintain a lane, reckless driving, driving under the influence under 21 and first-degree murder, but was eventually released in May on a $25,500 bond, Fox News reported .
Lekiachvili (pictured) was drinking at the Rao household with two other teenagers earlier this year when they decided to go for a late night drive while drunk – all while the parents were aware of their alcohol consumption
Lekiachvili (pictured) was in the front seat of the speeding car when it lost control, crashed and overturned – leaving her trapped in the seat before she was rescued, but tragically died in hospital just hours later
But during a press conference on Wednesday, Boston revealed that a grand jury had filed formal charges against the teen.
She faces three counts of first-degree murder per vehicle, three counts of serious injury per vehicle, driving under the influence under the age of 21 and possession of an open container of alcoholic beverage in the passenger compartment.
Rao’s parents now face charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and maintaining a disorderly house.
Anindita surrendered herself to authorities, where she was subsequently booked into the DeKalb County Jail.
Her husband was on a business trip but is expected to turn himself in once he returns from abroad.
During the investigation, it was revealed that hundreds of teenagers could have suffered the same fate because the Rao household was known as the ‘party house’, where teenage drinking was considered the norm.
“This crash was a foreseeable consequence of allowing minors to drink in their home, and worse, allowing someone they knew to have consumed alcohol to drive,” Boston 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 can prevent future tragedies.”