Drunk Driver Charged With Vehicular Homicide

Cobb County is still reeling from the loss of twenty-one year old Kimberly Johnson. Johnson was killed on April 18^th when she encountered an allegedly drunk driver on the road. Two of Johnson’s passengers, Michelle Jackson and Lauren Prewitt were injured in the DUI accident. Both were hospitalized with injuries, but fortunately survived.

The accident that took Kimberly Johnson’s life happened on Barrett Parkway around 2:30 in the morning. It was then that Shaneisa Newsome, who was driving Kimberly, Michellem and Lauren, drove off the road, hit several trees, and flipped her car. None of the women involved in the accident were wearing a seatbelt. Police officials suspected alcohol was involved because Newsome had lost control of her Trailblazer, and no other vehicles were involved.

Shaneisa Newsome, also twenty-one, was charged with vehicular homicide and DUI after the accident. Newsome, a former Kennesaw State University student, hasn’t commented on the accident or the charges. Her mother, Tonye, has said that her daughter “would never do anything to hurt anyone. She made a mistake.” She also apologized to the Johnson family for their loss and expressed condolences.

But the sadness surrounding Johnson’s death was heavy on the mind of Judge Hugh Robinson, the Cobb County magistrate tasked with deciding whether to let Newsome out of jail on bond. Judge Robinson refused to set a bond. A trial date has not been set, but the case will be heard in Superior Court in the days ahead.