Wednesday, September 17, 2003
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Wednesday, September 17, 2003 |
Vehicular homicide charges droppedBy JOHN
MUNFORD
Misdemeanor vehicular homicide charges against a Peachtree City man were dropped Monday afternoon, several hours into the trial against him in Fayette County State Court. The charges were dropped against David C. Rogers, 40, minutes after a medical witness in the case told State Court Solicitor General Steve Harris that a mistake may have been made on the death certificate of the victim, Mary Ruth Prince, 61, of Tyrone. Prince died in the hospital Dec. 9, 16 days after the auto accident, of an infection which Dr. F. Augustus Dozier originally attributed to injuries from the crash. But moments before he was to take the stand, Dozier said that after looking at Prince's medical file, the infection might have been caused by diverticulitis, a chronic medical condition Prince suffered from. Harris was expecting Dozier to testify that the crash caused the injuries that killed Prince, based on what Dozier put on her death certificate which he signed, Harris noted. Instead, Dozier told Harris there was "no certainty at all" that Prince's death was caused by injuries received during the auto collision. After the charge was dropped, Rogers pled no contest to failure to stop at a stop sign. Sams sentenced him to 12 months of non-reporting probation and a $1,000 fine, the maximum allowed by law. Relatives of Mrs. Prince were visibly upset at the outcome, with a man who said he was her son complaining that Rogers has expressed no remorse for the accident. Rogers told the court that Prince's family is constantly in his prayers. "Regardless of the outcome today I'll have to carry that with me for the rest of my life," Rogers said. "There's no way I can express how sorry I am to the family." The crash occurred Dec. 9 at the intersection of Ardenlee and Ga. Highway 74 north. Prince was coherent at the accident scene but was later found to have internal injuries, a Peachtree City paramedic testified Monday. Rogers had pulled out into the path of Prince's vehicle, which was headed south on the highway, as Rogers tried to drive into Ardenlee, Harris said. Prince's car slammed head-on into the passenger's side of Rogers's sport utility vehicle, Harris said. Rogers's attorney, Scott Ballard, said Rogers and his son recalled seeing the right turn signal activated on Prince's vehicle and Rogers assumed she was slowing down to turn when he proceeded through the intersection. Harris said he felt bad for Prince's family, but as an officer of the law he had little choice but to drop the vehicular homicide charge. "I have an obligation to the family but I also think I have an obligation to justice," Harris told Sams before dropping the charges.
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