Nine months after a high-speed, single-car crash claimed the life of a Lakeside High School student in DeKalb County, the driver and the parents of one of the passengers have been indicted on charges related to the girl’s death.
Sophia Lekiachvili, 18, died after the crash on Oak Grove Road that happened just after midnight Feb. 24. The driver, 18-year-old Hannah Hackemeyer, and backseat passenger Ananya Rao were able to crawl out of the car, but Lekiachvili was trapped in the front passenger seat, DeKalb District Attorney Sherry Boston said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
Lekiachvili was extracted from the car and taken to the hospital, where she later died from her injuries. Rao was also taken to the hospital and treated for serious injuries.
Boston said DeKalb police found an open bottle of wine in the wrecked Mazda CX-5. Hackemeyer was found to be driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol concentration of .046, more than twice the legal limit for those under the age of 21, according to the DA’s office. Boston also said data from the car showed it was traveling 98 mph one second before the crash and that Hackemeyer never tapped the brakes.
Hackemeyer was indicted on three counts of first-degree homicide by vehicle, three counts of serious injury by vehicle, driving under the influence of alcohol under the age of 21, DUI less safe, reckless driving and possession of an open container of alcohol.
Boston explained that each count of vehicular homicide was linked to an underlying, prerequisite charge: DUI while under 21, DUI less safe and reckless driving. Hackemeyer can only be convicted on one count of homicide by vehicle.
“While Hannah Hackemeyer was the one behind the wheel that terrible night, we have determined that she was not the only one responsible for what happened,” Boston told reporters.
Sumanth and Anindita Rao, Ananya’s parents, were also indicted on multiple charges, the DA said.
“As a prosecutor and a mother of two teenage daughters, I have never seen a more egregious disregard for the safety and well-being of young people as I have in this case,” Boston said.
The night of the crash, according to the indictments, the three teenagers were drinking wine in the Raos’ kitchen in view of the parents. They told Sumanth Rao they wanted to go for a drive, and they were allowed to leave and take an open bottle of wine with them, Boston said.
She said the family’s home was known as a place where teens could drink in the open with the Raos’ knowledge.
“Sumanth and Anindita Rao have a long-standing, repeated pattern of allowing teenagers to drink in their home,” Boston said. “Halloween, homecoming, the last day of school — the Raos’ home was the party house where teens could freely consume alcohol without interference from the adults who lived there, the adults who should have accepted responsibility.”
Boston described the crash and Lekiachvili’s death as a “foreseeable consequence” of allowing the teens to drink and then drive away.
“It’s a miracle that nothing happened prior to Feb. 24,” Boston said. “The Raos’ careless behavior has likely impacted hundreds of children over the years, and it is time they are held accountable.”
Sumanth and Anindita Rao were both indicted on counts of involuntary manslaughter, reckless conduct and maintaining a disorderly house, according to court documents. Anindita Rao was booked Wednesday into the DeKalb jail, where she is being held on $25,000 bond. Sumanth Rao is out of town, Boston said, but she added that county officials have been in contact with his attorney.
The case is another example of prosecutors attempting to hold parents responsible for criminal incidents involving their children. The mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder is the most notable recent case in which a parent has faced serious charges alongside their child.
Colt Gray, 14, was indicted on 55 charges in connection with the September shooting that resulted in four deaths. Colin Gray, the alleged shooter’s father, was indicted on 29 counts, including multiple counts of second-degree murder. According to the testimony of GBI agents, Colin Gray bought the Sig Sauer M400 used in the shooting and gave it to his son for Christmas. The agents said he later bought ammunition, sights and larger magazines for the weapon.
The Raos’ prosecution also echoes a 2009 case in Cobb County, in which a woman supplied alcohol to her teenage stepson and his friends, including 16-year-old Garrett Reed, who later drove under the influence and died in a crash. Kecia Whitfield was found guilty of five counts of furnishing alcohol to minors but acquitted of reckless conduct. She was sentenced to 18 months in jail, followed by 2½ years on probation.
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