A Cobb County 17-year-old was sentenced to two years in prison for stealing a car and causing a head-on crash that killed his older brother, court records show.
DeQuario Tiyone Lovett was 16 at the time of the July 2019 crash on Mableton Parkway near Hunnicut Road, according to Cobb police.
Investigators in the Austell area spotted a black 2014 Nissan Altima that had been reported stolen, and officers briefly chased the vehicle. Police said Lovett was driving the Altima south on Mableton Parkway when their pursuit ended.
Lovett then drove into the northbound lane in an attempt to pass another vehicle, according to police. That’s when the Nissan crashed head-on into a gray Lexus RX350 that was northbound. Another car, a black 2013 Infiniti M37, also collided with the Nissan, police said.
The crash killed Lovett’s brother and front-seat passenger DeAngelo Lovett, who was 17. The drivers of the other two vehicles were not seriously injured, according to police.
DeQuario Lovett was arrested and initially booked into a youth detention center, according to police. But he was charged as an adult.
In December, a grand jury indicted Lovett on one count each of felony murder, theft by taking and driving without a license, and two counts of homicide by vehicle in the first degree, according to the district attorney’s office.
As part of a plea deal Wednesday, the murder charge against Lovett was dropped, court records show. He pleaded guilty to the other charges and was sentenced to 24 months behind bars followed by eight years on probation.
A Nov. 10 hearing was scheduled to determine the amount of restitution Lovett must pay victims of the crash, court records show.
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