Teenage passenger died after crash involving underage driver who had been drinking, say reports
Flair Airlines CFO Sumanth Rao has been charged with involuntary manslaughter following a fatal car crash in Georgia involving an underage driver who had been drinking at his home.
The charges relate to a February 24 crash that claimed the life of 16-year-old passenger Sophia Lekiachvili, according to the Canadian Press (CP).
The crash occurred on a residential road near Atlanta. Prosecutors allege that driver Hannah Hackemeyer was speeding about 100 km/h over the limit and failed to brake before the vehicle lost control. Both Hackemeyer and Rao’s daughter, a passenger, escaped the wreckage, but passenger Lekiachvili later died in hospital.
Previously, a 19-year-old female worker at Walmart in Nova Scotia died in the workplace.
The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office announced that a grand jury indicted Rao, his wife, and 18-year-old Hackemeyer. Rao – who joined Flair Airlines in August – remains in his position as the case moves forward, according to CP.
Meanwhile, Hackemeyer has been charged with vehicular homicide and impaired driving. According to DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston, the teens had been drinking earlier in the evening at the Rao household, where they shared a bottle of wine in the kitchen under the parents’ supervision.
The district attorney’s office stated that Rao and his wife allowed the teens to leave the home for a drive shortly before midnight.
Rao and his wife face involuntary manslaughter charges for allegedly permitting underage drinking and allowing the teens to leave unsupervised. Hackemeyer, the driver, also faces charges stemming from the crash.
Flair Airlines has not commented further on the case beyond its initial statement, according to the CP report published in CTV News. The airline stated it is aware of the charges and is taking steps to ensure business operations remain unaffected.
Earlier this year, six people died when a plane carrying Rio Tinto workers crashed near Fort Smith in the Northwest Territories.
