Updated 11:10 p.m.
WSB TV reported late Tuesday that Nichols is the charged teen's mother, and that the teen's father, Michael Mosley, plans to take his son to the youth detention center in Cobb County Wednesday morning.
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Cobb County Police on Tuesday announced that a 16-year-old driver is facing charges of homicide by vehicle in the second degree and failure to yield while turning left. The wreck claimed the life of 45-year-old Kimberly Michelle Nichols of Dallas. Another Dallas woman, 40-year-old Karen Lynn Flury, sustained injuries in the crash and was taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital.
The teen, who drove a 2002 Volkswagen Cabriolet involved in the wreck, came away from the crash with non-life-threatening injuries and was taken after the crash to Kennestone. He is not being identified by authorities. Nichols was a passenger in the teen’s Volkswagen.
Flury was the driver of a 1999 Ford Mustang involved in the crash. The third vehicle involved, a 2008 Mazda-3, was driven by 19-year-old Joseph Kirkland of Powder Springs, who did not sustain injury.
Preliminary information from the scene indicates that the Volkswagen was eastbound on Dallas Highway attempting to make a left turn onto northbound Old Hamilton Road. Directly in front of the Volkswagen—and in the intersection also—attempting to turn left onto southbound Casteel Road from westbound Dallas Highway, was a large white box truck. According to witnesses, as the Volkswagen turned left out of the intersection and onto northbound Old Hamilton Road, it was struck on the passenger-side door by Flury’s Mustang, which was going westbound on Dallas Highway. Kirkland’s Mazda struck the back of the Volkswagen after the initial impact of the Mustang and Volkswagen.
The Cobb County Police Department’s S.T.E.P. (Selective Traffic Enforcement Program) Unit continues to investigate the crash.
Maureen Owens
Sometimes they really are just accidents & other times like when someone has been drinking or taking drugs, well they should be treated just like anyone else who commits a murder because they are still here, living life while someone else is gone & family & friends are left here to just live with the memories left....
Am I missing something here? I was able to hear Jay Tom Morgan speak about this type of heavy handed, misguided justice. If you have kids in GA, read Ignorance is No Defense. A real eye opener. Our laws are out of control....
I imagine this young man is going through a lot right now, and hopefully the court system will have mercy. Even though this news is especially disturbing to people that know this family, it is still news and deserves to be reported. Jon reported what the Cobb County Police released TO THE PUBLIC. It was not private information. He did not act out of turn or unethically.
There was nothing to say the young boy was "reckless". I have been driving for 39 years (only 2 accidents when I was 18 and 20). But had numerous close calls because of carless acts of other drivers or just human error. He was charged, but that doesn't mean it was his fault for his mother's death. The police told us that even if a car is speeding when you cross the road and they hit you, it is still your fault. Now I started thinking about the two "sports cars" that were "side by side" rounding the corner, driven by a young man and young woman. How many times in my life I have witnessed people racing or showing off to one another when driving. Who is to say that the box truck blinded all those involved from seeing each other and the two cars weren't racing to impress one another or just to make it through the light before it changed? Plus, laws are in place if the boy were to have caused a death to a person in the other vehicles is understood. BUT it was his mom in the car with him, overseeing his driving. It seems that our tax $'s are being wasted to even process with extreme mercy. Let's spend the money and time on real crimes and criminals. Hopefully now you understand as to "why charge him". Wasn't like he was talking on his cell, putting on make up or knitting while he was driving. People make mistakes, that is why they are called "accidents".
I think this situation provides an excellent opportunity for parents to talk to their teenagers about the consequences of their actions. Don't guess when you're behind the wheel. Play it safe. A car is an extremely heavy piece of machinery that can do a lot of damage. I hope this kid can grieve, get any help he needs and then tell his story to others.
I had a very dear friend die to a DUI, this was the third time this young man killed someone in a DUI crash an he was still walking around. I think we live in a screwed up judicial system.