Burke pleads guilty in deadly north Georgia crash
He was chasing down a man who he mistakenly thought had stolen his wallet and phone
CHATSWORTH, Georgia (WDEF) – A north Georgia driver has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in a horrendous crash last summer.
It happened on Smyrna-Ramurst Road south of Chatsworth.
Adam Lamar Harrington and James Aubrey Martin were at the home of billy Ray Burke and went swimming in his pool.
Martin later testified that Burke was extremely drunk.
When Harrington and Martin left, Burke couldn’t find his wallet and phone.
He believed that Harrington had taken them, so he hopped in his Hyundai Genesis and chased them down.
He drove over 100 miles an hour during the chase.
He was travelling twice their speed when he caught up with their pickup.
Investigators say he appeared the misjudge the distant between them and slammed on his brakes before hitting them.
The pickup cartwheel off the road and hit a tree.
Harrington was ejected and killed.
Martin, who was the passenger, suffered serious injuries including a broken neck.
Burke’s Genesis hit a landscaping boulder and flipped.
He suffered less serious injuries but was taken to the hospital.
Investigators later found the missing phone back at Burke’s home.
The wallet never was found, but it was not at the crash scene.
Because of his injuries, police were not able to test Burke blood in time to determine if he was drunk.
But in the plea agreement, he did acknowledge that he was too drunk to drive.
He has one prior DUI conviction.
As a result of the plea deal, Burke was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
