Editor’s note: This story has been updated with more information about the crash.
The 18-year-old driver involved in a car accident that killed a fellow Lakeside High student told police she had been drinking the night of the crash, according to police records.
Hannah Hackemeyer was driving with two passengers when she lost control of the car early on Feb. 24 at the intersection of Oak Grove Road and Oak Grove Estates, the crash report shows. The vehicle struck a crossing sign and a tree, then overturned in the roadway.
Officers who responded to the scene noticed an open bottle of wine inside the vehicle and a “strong odor of alcohol” coming from Hackemeyer. She told the officer she had consumed wine, according to the arrest report. She provided a breath sample, and a portable Breathalyzer indicated a positive result for alcohol. The officer did not complete other field sobriety tests at the scene. She was advised she was being charged with driving under the influence, provided a blood sample and was released to her mother, according to the arrest report.
The student who died in the crash is not being identified at the family’s request.
The driver and another passenger were recovering and in stable condition, Principal Susan Stoddard said in a letter to families the first school day after the crash.
“Our deepest sympathies remain with the loved ones of the students affected during this challenging period,” she wrote.
In her letter to families, Stoddard encouraged people not to speculate about the accident, to avoid spreading “inaccurate or hurtful information.”
“The Lakeside High School community is here to support and uplift in any way we can,” she wrote, “and our priority is respecting each other’s feelings and emotions.“
The accident comes about six months after three Lakeside High students died in a crash in Gwinnett County over Labor Day weekend.
