Grandma 'driving under the influence' with two grandchildren hits and kills woman who was checking mail in her driveway
A grandmother from Georgia, who was driving with her two grandchildren, has been arrested and charged with first-degree homicide by a vehicle after she hit a woman with her car, according to Georgia State Patrol. The victim, who was reportedly checking her mail in her driveway, succumbed to her injuries, according to WSBTV.
The grandmother, 57-year-old Melissa Radcliffe of Covington, was reportedly driving with her 6- and 7-year-old granddaughters on Monday night when the incident occurred.
The state patrol said that Radcliffe lost control of her 2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV and the vehicle left the road and went onto the north shoulder of the road. The car then began to spin and traveled further off the road and into the driveway of 48-year-old Lori Spangler.
Officials said that Spangler was checking her mail at the time and was unaware of the SUV swerving behind her as she was hit by the front of the SUV. The vehicle eventually stopped in nearby bush with the woman still trapped under the car, according to reports.
Shortly after the incident, firefighters and EMTs arrived at the scene and rescued Spangler from under the SUV. However, she had sustained severe injuries and was later declared dead at the hospital.
Reports state that no one in the vehicle was seriously injured because of the incident. Officials later said that Radcliffe was found to be driving under the influence of alcohol.
The grandmother, in addition of being charged with vehicular homicide and DUI, has also been charged with improper lane usage and two counts of endangering the life of a child by driving under the influence, according to the state patrol.
Spangler is survived by her husband, Robert Spangler Jr. and sons Taylor and Zachary, according to reports. A service has been scheduled for her on Saturday in Loganville.
In another incident, a grandmother was arrested last week in Memphis for transporting her two grandchildren in pet kennels in the back of her SUV, according to reports.
The 62-year-old woman, Leimome Cheeks, was reportedly charged with two counts of child endangerment. The video of the incident was taken by a concerned passerby who saw the children coming out of dog kennels and captured it on his phone camera and later shared it on social media.
Local news channel WREG reported that, according to the affidavit, the children told police that there was no space on the backseat of the vehicle so their grandmother asked them to get inside the dog cages for the rest of the ride.
The woman admitted to driving from Whitehaven to Collierville while the children were inside the kennels and reports state that the children were inside the cages for nearly 35 minutes.