A Stone Mountain woman who struck and killed an 11-year-old boy who was in town fleeing Hurricane Irma will serve eight years in prison, authorities said Friday.
Brianna Robertson, 28, was convicted on two counts of first-degree homicide by vehicle, DUI and reckless driving for running over Timothy Jones in September 2017, the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Jones and his mother had fled to the Atlanta area from south Florida to escape the path of Irma, investigators said previously.
RELATED: Florida evacuee hit, killed in DeKalb
Police said Robertson backed over Jones and his mother, Shyra Slack, after the women got into an argument during a gathering at a home on Barbashela Circle.
As Jones and his mother prepared to leave the party, Robertson began yelling at Slack, prosecutors said.
Robertson, who witnesses said was intoxicated, put her car in reverse and struck Slack with an open door.
Jones ran to his mother’s aid and threw a can of soda into Robertson’s car, prosecutors said. Robertson continued backing out of the driveway, striking the child and knocking him into the road. She then put the car in drive and ran over Jones, crushing his ribs and briefly dragging him under her vehicle.
As she attempted to leave the scene, Robertson ran into a fence and a tree, blowing one of her tires, prosecutors said.
Jones suffered severe trauma to his head and body after getting run over and died at the hospital. Authorities initially said the child was 10 years old at the time of his death, but prosecutors said Friday that Jones was actually 11.
During her trial, Robertson claimed she was defending herself from Slack, who she said tried to enter her car during the altercation.
She was given a 15-year sentence with eight years to serve and the rest on probation.
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