Driver charged with vehicular homicide in Christmas crash in Byron
A Macon man has been charged with vehicular homicide in the death of an 11-year-old girl following a single-vehicle crash Christmas night.
Brian Keith Lawson Sr., 39, also was charged with serious injury by vehicle, drunken driving, open container and failure to maintain lane, said Byron police Lt. Bryan Hunter.
Lawson also was charged with five counts each of endangering a child under 14 while driving drunk and child restraint violation, Hunter said.
LaKevia "Tootie" LaShay George died at 1:19 p.m. Dec. 27 from head trauma after she and four other children were thrown from the vehicle Lawson was driving, authorities said.
Only Lawson and an adult passenger were wearing seat belts, Hunter said.
One of the other children was seriously injured but is recovering after being released from an Atlanta hospital, Hunter said.
Lawson also suffered serious injury. He is now wheelchair-bound, having lost the use of his legs, Hunter said.
Lawson was driving a Chevrolet Suburban north on Interstate 75 when another vehicle entered the interstate from the left side emergency lane in front of him. Traffic investigators were able to verify that another car had pulled out in front of Lawson, but they did not locate that vehicle’s driver, Hunter said.
Lawson veered right to keep from hitting the vehicle, traveling into the right-side emergency lane. He then overcorrected, which caused the vehicle to roll.
The children were ejected from the vehicle during the roll. The single-vehicle crash happened just north of Exit 149.
George was among nine people who died from injuries from Georgia crashes during the 2015 Christmas holiday travel period.
The Georgia Department of Public Safety's holiday reporting period was from 6 p.m. Christmas Eve to midnight Dec. 27.
In 2014, 14 fatalities were reported during the Christmas holiday reporting period.
Information from The Telegraph's archives was used in this report.
Becky Purser: 478-256-9559, @BecPurser
This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Driver charged with vehicular homicide in Christmas crash in Byron."