The man involved in the Lake Lanier wreck that killed 11-year-old Kile Glover was convicted Thursday of homicide by vessel.
Jeffrey Simon Hubbard was also found guilty of serious injury by vessel, reckless operation, unlawful operation of personal watercraft and boat traffic violation in a Hall County courtroom.
Kile was being pulled on an inner tube when he was run over by Hubbard in the July 2012 incident, investigators have said. Kile died from head injuries about two weeks later.
Kile, the son of R&B singer Usher’s former wife, Tameka Foster, and TV executive Ryan Glover, suffered a major brain injury July 6, 2012, after being run over by Hubbard. Kile and a 15-year-old girl were being towed on an inner tube behind a pontoon boat when they were hit, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources previously said.
Kile, who was wearing a life preserver, was unresponsive when he was pulled from the lake and never regained consciousness.
Hubbard, a family friend, was arrested March 1, 2013, after being indicted by a grand jury. Defense lawyers said Hubbard tried to avoid the children and that what happened was a tragic accident.
“At the end of the day, I know he didn’t do it on purpose,” Foster told Channel 2 Action News. “He could’ve only loved Kile.”
Hubbard was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs. His sentencing is scheduled for March 5 at 1:30 p.m.
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