Threat of Criminal Prosecution for an Accident

Lori Reineke-Avant is a married, suburban, working mother of two adult children and a 27 year resident of  Atlanta, Georgia.  One evening in the fall of 2009, while driving alone, Lori was involved in a traffic accident that resulted in fatal injuries to a pedestrian crossing the highway on a red light. Although witness testimonies confirmed the pedestrian had crossed the street illegally, three months later Lori was charged and arrested on a four count felony vehicular homicide charge that included texting while driving.  Her charges arose from a local statute that allowed for distracted driving charges in the absence of any law at that time that banned cell phone usage while driving.  What had been a quiet suburban life for Lori turned in to a personal and public 2 year battle to prove her innocence of texting while driving during the accident.

The story of her experience takes on many twists and turns, including false accusations of texting by a third party, a local political agenda to ban texting while driving and the lessons she has learned about the potential for criminal prosecution of accidents.  Lori will be sharing her story at the 2012 Global TapRooT® Summit — hear it by adding the best practice session, Criminal Prosecution of Accidents, Thursday, March 1, 2012, 10:50 a.m. to your Summit schedule.