BARROW COUNTY — For almost two years, a local family has been fighting for justice in the death of their 17-year-old daughter after she was killed by an impaired driver.
According to the incident report, the blame is on the 17-year-old, and not the driver who hit her.
Pauline Osuegbu’s daughter, Obianuju Osuegbu, was hit and killed by an impaired driver while riding her bike from work on Highway 11 in Winder, Barrow County in August 2020.
Police said the driver, Chrissy Rawlins, was high on drugs.
Osuegbu’s family has been pushing for Rawlins to be charged, but so far, she hasn’t been.
“Every time I think about my daughter, it pains. It hurts me,” Osuegbu said.
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According to the initial toxicology report from the responding state trooper, Adam Dodd, Rawlins had four drugs in her system, including meth and valium.
Bruce Hagen, the attorney working with Osuegbu’s family, specializes in bicycle cases. He said this is a “prima-facie case for felony vehicular homicide.”
However, the Barrow County District Attorney won’t charge Rawlins because the trooper’s report lays the blame on 17-year-old Osuegbu. The incident report by the Athens-area trooper said that Osuegbu didn’t have a light on the back of her bike and she wasn’t wearing reflective clothing. The report also claimed that she should have been on the right side of the road despite the fact that she was about to turn left to go home.
Hagen told Channel 2′s Dave Huddleston that the trooper’s conclusions were not Georgia law.
“The officer made faulty conclusions, misapplying the law to somehow come to the determination Ms. Osuegbu was at fault,” Hagen said.
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Hagen adds that Rawlins’ children were also in the car at the time of the accident.
“She was driving with her children in the vehicle,” Hagan said. “She was only charged with child endangerment, but she was not charged with vehicular homicide.
Huddleston has filed an open records request with the Georgia State Patrol for more information on the case.
Pauline Osuegbu said all she wants is justice.
“My daughter can not just die in vain and nothing was done about it.”
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