Driver in Easter hit-and-run could get 130 years

A Fulton County grand jury has indicted a 22-year-old accused of causing a deadly Easter wreck and later concealing that crime.

Aimee Michael was indicted on five counts of vehicular homicide, along with reckless driving and hit and run — charges that could imprison her for more than 130 years if she is convicted on all of them.

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John Spink/jspink@ajc.com

Aimee Michael

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Police say her BMW struck another car on Camp Creek Parkway on April 12, causing a chain-reaction crash that killed four people from the same family in one vehicle and a 6-year-old riding in another car. She then drove home, police said.

“The allegations in this indictment involve three distinct parts,” Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard Jr. said, the collision, leaving the scene of the accident, and what Howard called “the even more tragic part, the deliberate decision to repair and paint the vehicle.”

The grand jury also indicted the 22-year-old’s mother, Sheila Michael on charges of tampering with evidence and hindering apprehension of a criminal.

Police say Shelia Michael, an Atlanta school teacher, helped her daughter conceal the crash and repair the BMW.

At a press conference Tuesday announcing the indictments, Morris Johnson thanked people who came forward with information about the accident that killed his 6-year-old daughter, Morgan, and injured his wife, Tracy.

“I just want to say thank you to everyone who collectively worked together on bringing in the people who did this,” said Kathy Smith.

Smith lost her daughter, new son-in-law and two grandchildren in the crash.

Tearing up, Smith declined to speak further.

Aimee Michael was arrested two weeks ago after a neighbor saw the BMW outside the family’s Walden Park subdivision home. She remains in the Fulton County jail.

Howard said many people in the neighborhood where the Michaels live contacted authorities with information that led to their arrest.

Sheila Michael, a second-grade teacher at Cascade Elementary School, is on leave, Atlanta Public School officials said.

Her attorney, Renee Rockwell, did not return a phone call Tuesday.

Police do not plan to charge Aimee Michael’s grandmother, who was questioned. The people who repaired the BMW also will not face charges; Johnson said the mechanic gave information helpful to the investigation.